


Healing

by EldritchSandwich



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Chunky Sandwich, Divorce, Domestic Violence, F/F, Father-Daughter Relationship, Female Friendship, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Long, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Nurses, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-06-04 19:52:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 25,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6673423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EldritchSandwich/pseuds/EldritchSandwich
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rebecca Morse is a young mother trapped in an increasingly dangerous marriage. Sylvie Goldman is a workaholic nurse who buries her lack of personal life in long shifts. When a chance meeting brings them together, it sets off a chain of events that's going to change both of their lives...maybe, just maybe, for the better.</p><p>Please read notes for content warnings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. October

**Author's Note:**

> Please note: this story contains depictions of verbal and physical spousal and child abuse. If you have any triggers relating to domestic violence, please approach this story with caution.

"Sylvie?"

The young nurse looked up from her paperwork to find Doctor Lowell leaning through the breakroom doorway. "Hm?"

"Sorry to interrupt, but I've got a little girl in 218 coming down off a severe allergic reaction, can you keep an eye on her? Gorenberg wants me for some bullshit."

Sylvie nodded. "Yeah, no sweat."

"Thanks, you're my savior. Oh hey, forgot to ask, how'd the date go?"

The young black woman rolled her eyes. "Spent the whole meal complaining about her ex-boyfriend."

The blond pediatrician winced. "Shit. Better luck next time?"

"Pretty much have to be. Go on, I'll take care of 218."

Doctor Lowell nodded and disappeared from the doorway, and Sylvie rolled out of her seat with a groan. At least now she got to deal with a harsh adverse biological reaction that didn't involve her personal life.

* * *

Rebecca was finally breathing normally again. When they'd stumbled into the hospital, her heart had been hammering and she'd been breathing so hard she thought she was going to pass out, tears rolling down her reddened face.

And she wasn't even the one who was sick.

Penny squeezed her hand from her bed. "Mommy, are you okay?"

She tried to smile. "I'm fine, sweetie. I was just really scared for you."

"I feel kind of sad."

"Why, baby?"

"I really liked them until they made me sick."

Rebecca let out a laugh that was almost a sob just as the door opened. She looked up to find a petite, caramel-skinned young woman with curly brown hair and pink scrubs. "Mrs. Morse? Penny?" Rebecca nodded. "Hi, I'm Nurse Sylvia Goldman. Doctor Lowell had some things to take care of, so she wanted me to check in and make sure you were recovering okay."

Rebecca looked back down at Penny, who smiled. "I'm okay. I'm allergic to strawberries, though."

The nurse smiled as she took up a place in the chair on the opposite side of the bed. "Yeah, so I hear. Did they do all those tests on you to find out if you were allergic to anything else?"

The six year old nodded. "Yeah. But I'm just allergic to strawberries."

"Oh well, then that's not too bad," the nurse said as she put on her stethoscope. "I had to have those tests done too when I was a little bit older than you. Turns out I'm really allergic to dogs."

Her daughter's look of rapt attention made Rebecca smile. "Really?"

"Oh yeah. We took in this stray when I was a kid, but we had to give it up because I couldn't even be in the same room with it. Now Penny, I'm just gonna use this to listen to your lungs to make sure you're breathing all right, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good, just breathe normally...okay, now take a couple deep breaths." The nurse listened, then took off the stethoscope.

"Am I breathing all right?"

The nurse smiled, and Rebecca did the same. "Better than all right. You're a great breather. You should do it all the time."

Penny giggled. "I do breathe all the time!"

The nurse gave a playful wince. "Oh yeah. Good point. You're pretty smart, huh?"

Penny shrugged modestly, and the grown-up gesture made Rebecca burst out into a delighted laugh. The nurse met her eyes over the bed and gave her a wink. "All right Penny, is it okay if I stick around for a while? It's a lot more fun being in here with you than filling out all that paperwork I have to do."

Penny gave a sober, magnanimous nod that almost made Rebecca laugh again. "Okay."

"Great."

As the nurse met Rebecca's eyes, the young mother smiled. 'Thank you,' she mouthed, and the nurse winked again.

"Mommy, can I read?"

"Sure, baby, of course. Let's see what they have."

The nurse jumped up. "Oh, we've got some books right over here."

Rebecca slid in next to her to look at the shelf above the sink, the arm of her sweater pressed against the nurse's warm, bare arm. It was comforting, that warmth, just the feeling of having someone next to her. Her eyes cut sideways, and the nurse's lush lips curled into a smile that was just as warm. Rebecca's own thin lips returned it then, realizing how long their eyes had been locked, she turned awkwardly back to the shelf.

"Ooh, the Berenstain Bears, she loves those." Rebecca raised her arm without thinking, and wasn't entirely able to hide a wince as the movement pressed down on her ribs. Unfortunately, the nurse was too good at her job not to notice.

"Mrs. Morse, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Rebecca hoped she wasn't blushing. "I just...slipped and fell yesterday and I'm still a little tender."

"Do you want to get it looked at while you're here?" She could feel the nurse's eyes studying her, but she kept hers forward, on the books.

"No. No, I'm fine. It was nothing serious."

A few seconds of intense perusal, then those dark, penetrating eyes slid mercifully away. Rebecca let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding as she turned to face her daughter with a smile.

"Penny, honey, look what they've got!"

Penny's face lit up. "Wow, I've never read that one!"

"Well, you're such a good reader, I bet you can read it all by yourself."

Penny grinned as she took the slender book, and Rebecca smiled as she watched her daughter attack it. But she could still feel the nurse's dark, knowing eyes over her shoulder.

* * *

"Okay, that's everything. Just keep an eye on her tonight, monitor her breathing. Make sure she gets lots of fluids. And start reading labels, I guess."

The pretty young mother frowned, brushing a strand of auburn hair that had come loose from her ponytail out of her eyes. "Believe me, I'm going to go out of my way to make sure this never happens again."

Sylvie nodded in understanding as Mrs. Morse handed her the paperwork, her other hand squeezing her daughter's.

"Well then, don't take this the wrong way, but I hope we never see each other again."

The woman gave yet another delighted laugh, blue eyes flashing. "Or if we do, I hope it's out shopping or something."

Sylvie smiled. When she realized she was holding eye contact a little too long again, she cleared her throat, using the papers as an excuse to turn around. "Well, I hope you two ladies have a nice quiet night. Bye, Penny."

"Bye!"

"Thank you for everything."

Sylvie just nodded, waving goodbye as mother and daughter headed for the elevators. As soon as they were out of earshot Gloria, the nurse receptionist, clucked her tongue from her chair.

"Well well, didn't know you were into MILFs."

Sylvie pursed her lips, thankful not for the first time that her complexion hid when she blushed. "Oh my god, shut up..."

The brassy, heavyset blonde laughed. "Aw, come off it. You're not a doctor, she's not your patient, and you're not hurting anyone by batting your eyelashes a little."

"I wasn't batting my eyelashes," Sylvie mumbled, and Gloria rolled her eyes.

"My point exactly."

Sylvie sighed. "Excuse me, I have some paperwork to finish." As she headed back toward the breakroom, she could hear Gloria snickering behind her. She tried not to let it get to her; that was what Gloria did, stick her nose in other people's social lives instead of getting one of her own.

So what if she happened to be right?

* * *

It was nine thirty when they got home. Penny had been in good spirits the whole drive, talking about how nice the nurse had been and how she wanted to be a nurse when she grew up, or maybe a veterinarian, or an astronaut veterinarian, and Rebecca was smiling as she got her out of the car; it seemed like the traumatic experience had been all but forgotten.

The good mood lasted until the door opened. Because as soon as she had it halfway, it was jerked out of her hand so fast and so hard she almost tumbled over the threshold. When she righted herself, Greg was looming over her, scowling.

"Where the fuck have you been?"

She instinctively curled Penny behind her, and she felt little hands clutch at the back of her shirt. "At the hospital."

Greg blinked. "What? Why? What happened?"

"I...I gave Penny some strawberries. It turns out she's allergic."

"Is she all right?"

"I'm fine, Daddy," Penny said, poking her head out from behind her mother's back. Rebecca turned to her and tried to smile.

"Sweetie, why don't you head upstairs and get ready for bed? I need to talk to Daddy, then I'll be right up to tuck you in."

"Okay. Good night, Daddy."

"Night, kid."

When Penny's eager, clomping footsteps disappeared up the stairs, Rebecca looked back to find Greg glaring at her. "What the fuck were you thinking?" he growled. "I didn't know where the fuck you were, what the hell was I supposed to think, huh?"

"I...I'm sorry. I needed to get her to the hospital. I...I left a note on the fridge, didn't you..."

She realized her mistake even as the words were coming out of her mouth, but it was too late to stop them. He turned on her with a snarl. "So you're saying it's my fault?"

"No, no of course not, that's not what I—"

"Because I'm not the stupid bitch who almost killed my daughter today!"

Rebecca was crying, shaking her head as Greg's body pressed her against the wall of the hallway.

"You don't think maybe I would have wanted to be there, that maybe I care about my kid? No, you're too stupid to make a fucking phone call!"

Rebecca sobbed. He was right, as usual; she should have called, but she'd been so swept up in panicking over Penny and, if she was being honest, distracted by how good it felt being around the nurse, like maybe for once she might have found a friend again.

Her moment of introspection was broken when Greg's hand closed around her neck. She gasped as he lifted her off the floor, shoving her back against the wall as her hands scrambled to break his grip.

"You stupid fucking cunt! I could've lost my daughter because of you, and I never even would have fucking known about it!"

"You're right," Rebecca gasped. "You're right, I'm sorry! It'll never happen again, I'll never go anywhere without telling you again, I promise!"

His face and his grip slackened, and she took in a deep, wheezing breath as he dropped her to the floor. "I'm going to go tuck Penny in. You...do the fucking dishes or something, this place is a pig sty."

As her husband headed up the stairs, Rebecca climbed shakily to her feet and stumbled through the dining room and into the kitchen. Next to the sink full of dirty dishes was the refrigerator, and there on the whiteboard it said:

OVERLOOK HOSPITAL  
PENNY  
EMERGENCY

She wiped the words away with a sob, then turned on the water.


	2. November

It was Sylvie's own fault that she didn't have a social life. She'd heard all her instructors in nursing school talk about how the career meant giving up on the concept of free time, but she'd still insisted on becoming one, and keeping up her physical training to boot. And instead of trying to cram as much of a personal life into the hour or two she had left every week, where did she spend them? The bookstore.

It would be bad enough if she were just browsing, or reading, minding her own business. But no, seventy hours a week as a nurse wasn't enough; she just had to keep helping people.

People like the auburn-haired woman who'd been staring blankly at the children's books since Sylvie walked in.

"Excuse me, ma'am? Do you need help?" The woman turned around, and Sylvie sucked in a breath. "M...Mrs. Morse!"

The woman blinked. "Uh...Nurse Goldman. I...what..." The woman's eyes darted left and right, as if to confirm she was in the right place. "Do you work here?"

Sylvie shook her head. What were the odds that... "Call me Sylvie, everybody does. Uh, no, not really...my dad owns this place and I sort of...live upstairs."

"Oh." The response dragged out into silence, the two women just...watching each other. Sylvie didn't know what either of them was looking for, but eventually she broke the eye contact.

"So...do you need help?"

The young mother shook her head. "Oh, um...right. I was just...Penny's birthday's coming up..."

"How is she?"

"She's fine. She's doing great. Thank you, by the way, for your part in that. I don't know how much I would have fallen apart if..." Their eyes met again, and this time the redhead was the one who broke contact. "Anyway, her birthday's coming up, and...well, you know how much she loves to read..."

Sylvie smiled. "Yeah."

The other woman smiled back. "Yeah." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, I um...I was hoping to find a copy of The Velveteen Rabbit..."

"Oh, I love that book! Wait, we don't have it?"

"Um, I don't know. I mean...I was looking under W, I looked under V in case it was by title..."

Sylvie rolled her eyes. "Ugh, sorry! The kids' books are in subsections. See down at the bottom of the shelf it says 'First-Time Readers'? It'll probably be under 'Children's Classics,' or maybe 'Animals.'"

"Oh! Thank you, I...I never would have spotted that!"

Sylvie smiled as she guided her to the appropriate shelves and knelt down with her to look. "Yeah, I've been on my dad to reorganize or relabel it for a while now, but he keeps forgetting. I'd do it myself, but I don't have the time...oh! Here we go."

The two women straightened, Sylvie handing off the faded hardback and the redhead accepting it with a smile. "Thank you."

"My pleasure."

The woman's eyes dipped a little, a nervous hand brushing the hair out of her eye as a light pink suffused her cheeks. Before Sylvie could think too much about it, a cold chill of recognition went down her back when the motion revealed the heavy but insufficient makeup around the woman's eyes. Before she could stop herself, her fingers were reaching up to touch the fresh—and freshly concealed—bruise.

"Hey, what happened?"

The redhead flinched, and her cheeks went redder. Her hand rose up to touch Sylvie's, but she made no effort to remove it. "Oh! Nothing. I just...I slipped and banged my head."

Sylvie wasn't smiling anymore. "It seems like you slip a lot."

Her eyes cut down to the floor. "I...I'm clumsy," she muttered.

Sylvie didn't get the chance to respond. "Sylvia, did I hear you back here? What...oh. Pardon me."

Until her father turned the corner, Sylvie didn't realize she still had her hand on the redhead's face. She dropped it fast, lips pursed and eyes searching in vain for anything else to look at. "Papa! Uh...this is my father, Saul Goldman. Papa, this is Rebecca Morse."

The skinny little amalgam of tweed and salt-and-pepper curls that was Sylvie's father shook the redhead's hand with a smile.

"Pleased to meet you, Rebecca! Time was my daughter told me when she was seeing someone new..."

His eyes cut toward her accusingly, and Sylvie's bugged out; she could practically feel the pair of the woman behind her boring into the back of her head.

"Papa! It's not...Mrs. Morse's daughter was one of our patients!"

Her father, unflappable as always, just waved his hand. "Oh, forgive me. I don't know what I was thinking. Don't listen to an old man. And don't let me interrupt, you two gab, I just needed to get to the poetry. It was nice to meet you, Rebecca."

"It was nice to meet you, too," the redhead mumbled, and Sylvie's father disappeared around the corner, off to sow destruction somewhere else. When the other woman turned back, Sylvie was blushing bright enough that it was visible even on her. The redhead cleared her throat. "So that was your dad."

"Yeah," Sylvie ground out. "He's senile, so you should probably just ignore him..."

That was enough to make her smile again, a sight that made Sylvie's tense shoulders loosen just a little. Now, it was the redhead who was looking nervous.

"So, um...I'm sure this is incredibly rude, or...are you adopted, or..."

Sylvie shook her head, glad to have anything else to talk about. "No. My mom was black. She, uh...she died from lymphoma when I was fifteen."

The redhead sucked in a breath. "Oh my god. I...I'm sorry."

Sylvie shrugged. "It's why I decided I wanted to be a nurse." She could feel the other woman's eyes on her again, and she sniffed and cleared her throat. "Look, uh...God knows how this is gonna sound after...everything, but..." She pulled one of the bookmarks from the cup on the endcap and the pen from her back pocket and scribbled down her cell number. She held it out with a shrug. "If you ever...want somebody to talk to, or anything...a friend..."

The redhead smiled gingerly as she took it, eyes flitting up to meet Sylvie's. "Thank you." Their fingertips brushed, and Sylvie immediately snapped her hand back, all too conscious of how the other woman might now be reading things. The redhead, however, was just smiling sheepishly. "I guess I don't really have a lot of those."

Sylvie just nodded. "Well. You've got one now."

The redhead smiled. "Then in that case you should probably start calling me Rebecca."

Sylvie smiled back. Then, when the glance went the way of all their other glances and carried on a little too long, Sylvie scrubbed her hand against the back of her neck. "Well. I'll let you check out. Maybe I'll...see you around."

Rebecca chuckled, and the sound immediately made Sylvie relax. "Doesn't seem like we can help it." She held up the bookmark. "I'll, uh...call you sometime."

"Right. Great. See you later, I guess." Her new friend nodded, and Sylvie backed out of the children's aisle. As soon as she made it around the corner, she practically power-walked to the door.

She couldn't get out of there fast enough.

* * *

Rebecca was folding the laundry when the call came in. She practically tripped over the laundry basket going to pick it up, so she was understandably flustered when she answered. "He...hello?"

"Hey, Rebecca, I got your message. Is everything all right?"

A smile unwittingly split her face at the sound of the voice. "Yeah. Sorry, I...I guess I wasn't expecting you to call me back right away."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I just got off a shift, checked my messages..."

"It's fine. It wasn't anything important. I just...felt like chatting."

"Well, do you still feel like it? Because I just got home and I could use a little something to help me unwind if I'm gonna get any sleep before the graveyard shift."

Rebecca smiled. "Back home...to your apartment above the bookstore. What's that like?"

Sylvie chuckled, a deep, rich sound that made Rebecca want to close her eyes and just listen to it. "It's not bad. More room than I need for just me and Milo the bookstore cat."

"Oh, I miss having a cat," Rebecca groaned as she dropped to the bed. The laundry could wait a few minutes. "We always had cats growing up. And I just know Penny'd love one."

"Well, then you should get one."

Rebecca pursed her lips. "I...I don't think so. I mean...Greg doesn't like pets. And I wouldn't want to...it would just be a whole big thing."

There were a few seconds of silence on the other end of the line. "Right. So, uh...how are things for you? You and Penny, I mean?"

"Great. They're...they're fine."

"You have a nice Thanksgiving?"

"Yeah, it was...I cooked, my mother and some of Greg's family came over. Greg and his brother...drank a little too much, but...it was fine."

There were a few more seconds of silence before Sylvie cleared her throat. "So. Have you been hearing about these storms we're supposed to get?"

"Yeah. They're going to be pretty bad, from what I hear."

"Yeah. You might want to...make some preparations, just in case. You know, have a bug-out bag handy."

"A what?"

"Just a bag with...you know, a couple changes of clothes for you and Penny, some toys...some cash. Just, you know, in case of emergencies. In case...you're ever in danger. And you need to leave and get somewhere safe."

Rebecca swallowed. "You mean from the storms."

"Yeah. From the storms."

The grip Rebecca hadn't realized she'd had on the bedsheets loosened. "Well, um...I should probably go. I need to get started on dinner. Greg works hard, I...I wouldn't want to not have dinner on the table when he gets home."

"Right."

"I'll...talk to you later."

"Okay. Rebecca..."

"Hm?"

"You know I'm...I'm always here for you, right?"

Rebecca winced. "I know. Good night."

"Night."

Rebecca placed the phone back in its cradle and let out a sigh. She allowed herself a few seconds of peace, surrounded by the warm feeling the half-folded laundry and the conversation left her with. Then, she heaved herself out of bed with a sigh.

Dinner wasn't going to make itself.


	3. Thursday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains descriptions of physical child abuse. Reader discretion is advised.

Sylvie dropped her forehead against her locker with a sigh.

"I'm getting too old for this shit," she groaned, and Connie rolled her eyes as she buttoned up her shirt.

"You're twenty five, and that's not funny. Take your two days. Go out, get laid, get over yourself."

"I'll settle for eight actual hours of sleep."

"You know the only reason they schedule you for eight hundred hours a week is because you keep signing up for it, right? You, Sylvia Iphigenia Goldman, are the only one who's making you work this hard."

Sylvie rolled her head to face the older nurse. "Iphigenia? Really?"

Connie shrugged. "My husband dragged me to this play, I had to get something out of it. Seriously, you should at least get laid. Or just make out with someone. Gloria said you had a prospect, you should just go for her."

Sylvie pursed her lips as she zipped up her hoodie. "Gloria's got a terminal case of not being able to mind her own business. You should be careful, I hear it's contagious."

Connie, unfortunately, just grinned. "Ooh, I struck a nerve. You must really like her..."

Sylvie just sighed and slammed her locker shut. "See you Sunday."

Her hours were too irregular to keep track of the bus schedule, and the bookstore was only about a mile from the hospital, so she usually walked to and from work. It was through a good neighborhood, and it gave her time to clear her head. Tonight, though, her head wasn't getting clear; Rebecca was stuck in it.

Despite what Gloria and Connie were needling her about, whether she found the redhead attractive wasn't even the point. Obviously she was attractive, Sylvie would have to have been blind not to see that, but it was just as obvious that she really needed a friend. They'd talked on and off for a few weeks now, almost made plans to go for coffee or something a couple times before Sylvie's work or Rebecca's family life got in the way.

Sylvie tried not to think about Rebecca's marriage. She had to remind herself that she didn't know the details, that she might be overreacting, that even if her fears were founded she didn't have the right to dismantle the woman's entire life. She'd tried to help as much as she could during their last conversation, gentle warnings that she thought it sounded like Rebecca heard, but that had been four days ago, and they hadn't talked since. By the time she got home and climbed the stairs to the second floor of the bookstore, she'd made up her mind to call Rebecca.

The phone rang as she tossed her hoodie on the back of one of the kitchen chairs to dry—the rain had barely been a drizzle when she left the hospital, but by the time she got home it was pouring—and she was stripped down to her underwear by the time someone picked up. When they did, the voice on the other end of the line took her by surprise.

"Rebecca? Where the fuck are you?"

Sylvie swallowed, taken aback by the deep male growl filling her ear. "I...I'm sorry?"

"Who is this? What do you want?"

She took a deep breath, trying to control the shaking in her voice. "I'm sorry. Wrong number."

She showered, changed into her pajamas, and climbed into bed, all the while repeating to herself that whatever was going on between Rebecca and her husband now, it wasn't her place to get involved. Not when she could risk making things worse. So she lay in bed and listened to the rain, hoping it would drown out the awful fantasies playing through her head.

She was finally almost asleep when someone pounding on the door jerked her out of bed.

She approached the door carefully, groping for one of the pots hanging over the kitchen as she passed it. She'd never had any problems here, but between the foreboding storm and the horrible things her mind was making her see she wished she at least had a peephole.

There was another knock, and something that might have been talking but that she couldn't hear over the rain. She put her hand on the knob, took a deep breath, and twisted.

When the door opened as far as the chain would allow, her eyes went wide.

"Rebecca? What...hang on!" She closed the door, dropped the pot, and slid back the chain, throwing it open all the way. What she saw was the woman standing there shivering, soaking wet, eyes puffy and red with a duffel bag over her shoulder. The real problem was that her face was covered in bruises, her lip was swollen, and a crying Penny was clinging to her leg.

"I'm so sorry," the redhead gasped through her tears, "I didn't know where else to go, I..."

Sylvie just stepped back, letting the two step into the apartment. "Go get cleaned up, I'll make up the couch. You two can take the bed."

Rebecca blushed in shame. "I...I'm not going to kick you out of your bed..."

Sylvie frowned. "And I'm not making you or your daughter sleep on my couch. Bathroom's right through there, towels are in the cabinet."

Rebecca's lips pursed, eyes downcast, and she swallowed. "Thank you."

Sylvie nodded. As the mother and daughter headed for the bathroom, she headed for the hall closet with a long sigh.

Time to at least try to straighten things up.

* * *

Getting Penny to bed proved to be the easy part. Sylvie didn't know what had happened, but the little girl she remembered being so vibrant and joyous just hours after an actual near-death experience was now quiet, and more exhausted-looking than she'd ever been in her hospital bed. When she was tucked in, Rebecca finally showered herself, and when she came out of the bathroom in Sylvie's purple bathrobe the younger woman was waiting with a cup of coffee and the kind of intimidating home first aid kit that medical professionals tended to assemble without really trying. She expected Rebecca to protest, but the redhead just took the coffee, sat down at the kitchen table, and let Sylvie tend to her face.

"Are...are you hurt anywhere else?" Sylvie had to swallow to keep her voice from breaking, but Rebecca just shook her head. Not knowing how else to start this conversation—and not sure she wanted to—Sylvie elected to just work in silence. She cleaned the wounds, including the cuts on Rebecca's bottom lip and over her left eye, then headed to the freezer for an ice pack for the bruising. When she sat back down, tears were gathering in the corners of Rebecca's eyes again.

"It was always my fault," she muttered. She made no move to take the ice pack, so Sylvie gently touched her arm in warning before raising it to the side of her face. Rebecca swallowed. "I always told myself it was my fault. I always...I always did something wrong. It had to be me, because he...he never laid a hand on her. It was all right, because he never laid a hand on her."

Sylvie said nothing, just holding the ice pack in place and gently stroking Rebecca's neck as the woman sucked in a breath.

"But then tonight he did." Sylvie flinched, but now the words were streaming out. "We were fighting, I don't even know what it was about, and he..." She gestured vaguely to her face. "But then...then Penny came in. And she was crying, and she was screaming at him to get off me, that he was hurting me...and he...he let go. And he...he grabbed her hair, and he just slapped her in the face."

Sylvie heard the plastic crackle under her fingers as her grip on the ice pack tightened. Rebecca took another shuddering breath. "After he stormed out, Penny was...she was crying, and she...she looked at me and she said..." And now, suddenly, the tears were pouring down Rebecca's face. "She said 'Mommy, did I do something bad?' and I just...oh God..."

Sylvie let the ice pack drop, pulling Rebecca into an embrace as the redhead shook against her, her tear-stained cheek pressed against Sylvie's.

"Oh God, how could I do that?" she blubbered, shaking and gasping as Sylvie's arms tightened around her. "How could I...how could I make my daughter live like that..."

"Shh," Sylvie whispered against her cheek. "Shh, you're safe. You're safe and Penny's safe. You're both safe, you're right here and you're safe and I'm not gonna let anything happen to you I swear to God."

"I'm stupid. I'm so fucking stupid, what have I done? Oh God oh God oh God..."

"Shh. I'm gonna put you in bed, okay? You need to hold Penny, and you need to sleep, and then tomorrow morning we'll work it out, okay?"

Rebecca just nodded, not resisting as Sylvie helped her to her feet. She looped her arm behind the redhead's back, and Rebecca's hands clenched in the cotton of her t-shirt as they stumbled toward the bedroom. Penny was asleep, so Rebecca climbed under the covers as gently as she could, wrapping her daughter in her arms as Sylvie pulled the comforter over them, stroking the redhead's hair and eliciting a sigh.

She stayed that way until Rebecca was asleep.


	4. Friday

Sylvie woke up to the sound of a voice; it took her a few seconds to claw through the fog and realize it was Rebecca talking on the phone.

"...to tell you that Penny won't be in to school today. We had a...a family crisis. No, she...she should be back on Monday, but...I'll call again. Thank you. Goodbye." As she set down the phone, the redhead turned to the couch to find Sylvie's eyes open, and she flushed. "Oh, I...I hope that's okay. For us to...to stay here today. I mean, you don't have to—"

"It's fine," Sylvie said as gently as she could, "as long as you don't mind the company. I've got the next two days off, so...you know. I'm probably gonna be sticking pretty close."

Rebecca nodded, eyes flicking up to meet hers. "Good."

Sylvie couldn't hold the frank gaze for long, but fortunately Milo chose that moment to announce his presence and scramble up onto her lap. The big, aging gray tomcat purred contentedly as she rubbed his throat, and Rebecca smiled.

"I'm pretty sure he slept with us last night."

Sylvie laughed. "Yeah, he doesn't care who he climbs into bed with, the little slut." Then, suddenly remembering there was a six year old in the house, her eyes shot back and forth guiltily. "Is Penny..."

"Still asleep. She...she's not used to staying up so late."

Sylvie just nodded. "I can imagine."

The two women fell into an awkward silence that ended when Rebecca turned toward the kitchen. "Why don't I make us some coffee?" Sylvie didn't say anything, just let her work until the coffee was brewing. When that was done, her back went rigid. "I don't know what I'm going to do," she murmured.

Sylvie frowned and stood up, Milo rumbling discontentedly as she upended him and walked into the kitchen. "Well, you're staying here until you figure it out."

Rebecca still had her back turned, but the young nurse could see her shoulders drop. "I...I can't ask you to—"

"I can't not have you here," Sylvie blurted out, then immediately winced at how needy it sounded. She was glad Rebecca's back was still turned; she didn't know if she would have been able to say this to the woman's face. "I...I don't think I could stand letting you out of my sight right now. I'm sorry, I know that probably sounds so selfish, but—"

Her rambling died in her throat when Rebecca turned, throwing her arms around Sylvie's neck and burying her face in the nurse's neck. Sylvie was frozen for a second before her brain could finally nudge her arms into grabbing hold of Rebecca's back, pulling her closer and trying not to think about the warm flush that went down her spine as the woman's body pressed up against hers. God, it had been so long...

"Mommy? Mommy!" The two women pulled apart, cheeks flushed but everything forgotten outside of the fearful cries coming from the bedroom. Sylvie didn't even think of hanging back, just followed Rebecca into the bedroom to find Penny sitting up, red-faced and crying.

Rebecca dropped down to the bed to embrace her. "Shh, shh, it's okay, sweetie, we're at Sylvie's house, remember? You remember Sylvie?"

The little girl turned to the woman leaning against the doorway, then nodded. When she turned back to her mother she had stopped crying, but only just. "I want to go home..."

Rebecca winced. "I...I know, sweetie, I know you do. But...do you remember what we talked about in the car last night? About...about Daddy, and how angry he gets sometimes? How it's not always safe to be there?"

Penny blinked, then frowned. "But...we'll go home when Daddy's not angry anymore, right?"

Rebecca flinched, her mouth working impotently for an answer that wasn't a lie and wasn't a nightmare. When it was obvious she wasn't going to find one, Sylvie cleared her throat.

"Hey Penny? Do you mind if I introduce you to someone?" Penny's eyes turned to her as her mother's shoulders sank in relief. She reached down, and when her arms came back up they were overflowing with Milo.

Penny's eyes lit up. "Kitty!" Her arms stretched out as Sylvie brought the cat to her; fortunately Milo, as a bookstore cat, was well acquainted with being grabbed at by strangers and didn't do much more than rumble as Penny's fingers spread through his soft fur. Soon enough that rumble turned into a purr, and when Sylvie let go the cat was more than happy to plop down next to Penny and let her stroke him.

Sylvie smiled. "This is my friend Milo. Now Milo loves attention, and sometimes I worry that I'm not around enough for him, because I have to work all the time. Do you think you can help me with that?"

Penny nodded eagerly. "Mommy, he's so soft! Can we get a kitty too?"

Sylvie's eyes flicked toward Rebecca to find her smiling, tears in the corners of her eyes. "We'll see, sweetie. For now you just give Milo lots of love, and then in a little bit we'll have breakfast."

"Okay."

"Okay." Rebecca stroked her daughter's hair, then stood. When she and Sylvie reached the kitchen, she wordlessly pulled the nurse into another embrace. "Oh God, thank you, I...I don't know how to..."

Sylvie just nodded against her shoulder, trying not to breathe in too much of the scent of Rebecca's hair. There was the telltale scent of her own spearmint shampoo, but there was also another smell underneath that one, a scent that threatened very bad things if she didn't start ignoring it. She cleared her throat and pulled back to find Rebecca's eyes closed. The redhead took a deep breath, then opened them.

"Well. Why don't I make breakfast?"

Sylvie stepped back to give her access to the understocked little kitchen, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "Well, okay...I'm not really sure what I have in stock. I've got eggs. Probably."

"Bread? Milk?"

"Uh, yeah."

Rebecca nodded confidently. "Then you've got French toast."

Sylvie chuckled as Rebecca got to work. "It's weird having someone cook for me."

"Oh, don't tell me you're one of those workaholics who lives on ramen and delivery?"

Sylvie smiled. "No, no, I cook! I mean, my dad's kosher and my mom was from New Orleans, so I've got some kind of unique tastes—you know what's great, by the way, is matzo and Tabasco—I just meant...I'm not really used to having someone else around to cook."

Rebecca shot her a teasing smile. "What, you kick them out of bed before they can make you breakfast?"

Sylvie winced self-consciously. "Actually, I uh...don't get to that point very often."

Rebecca turned away from the bowl of eggs she was beating to give Sylvie a look that made her squirm. "Oh come on. You're gorgeous, you should have them eating out of the palm of your hand."

Sylvie blushed. "Gorgeous and busy. It's hard to have a relationship when you're working sixty or seventy hours a week. I mean, there've been a few girls I got closer to than others, but...my job always mattered more, I guess."

It didn't escape her attention the way Rebecca's posture changed when she said 'girls.' Shit, why did she do that? As if the first clue the redhead had gotten about her sexuality hadn't been embarrassing enough, and the last thing Rebecca needed right now was any more awkwardness.

Before Sylvie could think of a way to laugh it off, Rebecca cleared her throat. "Could I, um...could I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, of course," Sylvie said, already cringing.

Rebecca licked her lips. "Are you...a lesbian? I mean, obviously, I didn't...I just meant, have you ever been attracted to men?"

Sylvie shook her head. "Never once. And I tried, too."

Rebecca turned to her with a furrowed brow. "You tried?"

"Oh yeah. From about...thirteen to fifteen, I would've done anything to get a crush on a boy and just...just be normal."

"I guess we have that in common," Rebecca muttered as she turned back to the eggs. Sylvie's eyes narrowed, and Rebecca shrugged. "We both tried to pretend everything was normal no matter how much it hurt."

Sylvie could hear Rebecca's voice almost cracking, and before she could second-guess herself she stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Rebecca from behind. As soon as she did, the woman's shoulders collapsed and she began shaking with grateful tears.

"I spent so long being afraid," she gasped between sobs. "I...I don't know how to live any other way anymore. I just...I'm standing here making breakfast for my daughter and all I can think about is what if he breaks down the door and starts choking me, what if he's so angry that I took Penny away that he doesn't stop, what if..."

"Shh," Sylvie whispered against the back of her neck. "You're safe here. You're safe, Penny's safe, he doesn't know me, he has no way of knowing you're here. You and Penny can stay here as long as you want, and I promise you're safe."

"God, how can I live like this? How can I get over this? How do I function if I'm always looking over my shoulder?"

"Look, Rebecca...I'm a nurse. I've seen this. I've seen so many women go through this, and it breaks my heart, but...you can get out. I know people, I can help you. Just say the word."

"Help me," Rebecca sobbed without hesitation. "I need help. I can't...I'm just so scared for Penny, and..."

"I'll help you. I'll help you however I can, I promise."

Rebecca let out a shuddering breath, relaxing back into Sylvie. The nurse tensed at the feeling of the beautiful woman's warm body going flush with hers, tried to ignore the smell of her hair creeping into her nostrils again. God, she'd forgotten how much she loved holding a woman from behind, hands rubbing her stomach, face buried in her hair as—

"Mommy? Is breakfast ready?"

Sylvie felt Rebecca jump against her and practically leapt back, blushing as the real world came rushing back in. As she was turning to Penny, she thought she saw a flush of color on Rebecca's cheek as she brushed her hair back; was it possible that Rebecca had been thinking...

Sylvie shook her head and turned her attention to Penny. The girl was standing next to the island, Milo pacing back and forth between her legs protectively, and looking back and forth between the two women.

Rebecca cleared her throat. "No, sweetie. Not yet. It's, um...it's taking a while."

The girl looked back and forth between the two adults. "Does Mommy still need a hug?"

Sylvie blushed; oh God, so Penny did see that? At least she didn't think anything of it. "Uh, yeah, sweetie. I think your Mom needs a lot of hugs right now."

Penny just nodded and grabbed hold of her mother's legs, a sight which made both women smile.

"You two look like you have things covered here, I'm gonna go take a quick shower."

Penny waved, and Rebecca met Sylvie's eyes with a grateful nod. As the quiet, giggling banter of a mother and daughter making French toast followed her to the bathroom, she couldn't help but smile.

* * *

By the time she had finished frying the toast, Rebecca almost felt normal. Making breakfast for her daughter, asking her about school, smiling at Penny's gasp of delight when she revealed that they were staying above a bookstore.

As she slid the French toast into the oven to keep it warm, Penny tugged on the leg of her pants. "Mommy, can we have maple syrup?"

"I don't know, sweetie. I don't know if Sylvie has any. I think I heard her get out of the shower, do you want me to go check?"

"Yes, please."

"Okay. You keep Milo company, I'll be right back."

Rebecca gave her daughter a pat on the head, then set off for the bedroom. The door was ajar, and she could hear Sylvie moving around inside, so she pushed her way inside.

"Sylvie, are you—" The words died in her mouth as Sylvie turned on instinct, revealing her bare chest to Rebecca's astonished eyes.

Rebecca only got a quick look at the nurse's small, perky breasts—not that she was—before Sylvie gasped and wrapped her arms around her chest. By then, Rebecca had her hand over her eyes and was back out the doorway. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!"

"I'm sorry! I'm not used to having other people in the house, I didn't even think about—"

"No, it's my fault," Rebecca shouted through the door, "it's your house, I should have knocked, I..."

Her face was glowing red, and the few seconds of silence that followed only made it worse. Finally, Sylvie cleared her throat. "You, uh...you can come in now."

Rebecca opened the door again to find Sylvie dressed in a sweatshirt, arms crossed over her chest and with a sheepish wince that matched her own. "So, uh...what did you want?"

"Oh. Right. Um, we were wondering if you had maple syrup. I can't find any, and..."

"Oh. Uh, no. I don't think so, sorry. I think I might have some honey?"

"Okay."

"There's a market like two blocks from here, I can go get some if Penny really wants—"

"No, no, it's fine. Honey's fine. I'll just, um...let you...oh God..."

"Rebecca?" Rebecca looked up to find Sylvie smiling at her. "It's fine."

Rebecca let out a pained sigh. "Look, I...I know this isn't what you signed up for."

Sylvie stepped forward, close enough to settle one hand on Rebecca's shoulder and the other on her hair. "This, all of this, is exactly what I signed up for."

Rebecca let her eyes drift shut as Sylvie stroked her hair. God, it had been so long since someone had done that. She let her head fall to Sylvie's shoulder, taking deep, grateful breaths as the nurse comforted her. As she did, a thought crossed Rebecca's mind; she couldn't even imagine what the last twenty four hours would have been like if she'd never met Sylvie.

It wasn't until Sylvie pulled back to look in her eyes that she realized she'd said it out loud. She blushed, but Sylvie just smiled as she shook her head. "Come on. Let's go have some breakfast."

* * *

Sylvie couldn't remember the last time she'd spent the entire day at home.

She really shouldn't have, anyway. She had so much she needed to do, so many chores she needed to catch up on during her limited time away from the hospital, but it was still raining and...well, she just couldn't bear to let Penny and Rebecca out of her sight.

Rebecca's bug-out bag contained a few of Penny's favorite books and toys and movies, so the six year old had plenty to do, and neither Sylvie nor Rebecca had been able to resist spending most of their time with her. She lectured Sylvie on the latest generation of Disney movies, played with her dolls with her mother, and made their hostess promise to take her down to the bookstore to browse the children's section. As accustomed as she was to being busy, Sylvie was still amazed how fast the day flew by. By the time the sun set, she was sitting on the couch, leaning against Rebecca, laughing as Penny regaled her with a story about trick-or-treating this past Halloween. She was shaking her head, nestled into Rebecca's shoulder and grinning like an idiot, when the comfortable silence was broken by four sharp knocks on the door.

Sylvie could feel Rebecca's body tense against hers, and Penny blinked and looked up in confusion at the two women's looks of shock and tension. "Mommy?"

"It...it's okay, sweetie," Rebecca said, but her voice was shaking. Sylvie stood up fast, leaning down to touch the redhead's shoulder as she did.

"Just...stay quiet and stay near the phone. I'm gonna go see who it is." She laid a soft kiss on Rebecca's hairline, the action so natural and automatic that she didn't even consider what she'd done until she was almost to the door. But by then, she had bigger things to worry about.

She swallowed hard. "Hello? Who's there?" Her voice was shaking, and when she heard the voice on the other side she almost wanted to cry.

"Who's there? What, is this a knock-knock joke? It's your father, who else is it going to be?"

Sylvie's entire body collapsed as she unlocked the door and jerked it open, a little harder than she needed to. The look her father shot her suggested that he noticed.

"Here, take these," he muttered, shoving an armful of Chinese takeout containers into her arms. "They were out of the, uh...what it is, the orange sauce, so I got you the sweet and sour."

Sylvie's eyes shot between her father, already in the kitchen with the rest of the food, and Rebecca, leaning up over the couch looking mystified. She cleared her throat. "Um, Papa...you remember Rebecca Morse?"

Her father turned to find the fragile-looking redhead standing next to his daughter's couch, and his eyebrows rose. "Oh. Yes, from the store. I'm sorry, am I, uh, interrupting nothing again?"

Sylvie could feel her cheeks heating up even as Penny appeared from behind her mother's legs. The young nurse pursed her lips. "This is her daughter, Penny."

"Mommy, who's that?" Penny muttered as the elder Goldman looked at them. Rebecca stroked the top of her head.

"That's Sylvie's daddy, sweetie."

"Is he nice?"

Rebecca managed a smile that was only a little painful. "Yeah, he's really nice."

Saul's eyes came back to his daughter to find Sylvie meeting them evenly. "They just need somewhere to stay for a few days."

Between the look his daughter was giving him and the air of fear that filled the room, it wasn't hard for him to put the pieces together. He just nodded. "Ah. Well. Forgive me for intruding. Keep the food, we can do this another time."

"No, wait, Mr. Goldman," Rebecca said. "We're already imposing, if you two had plans please stay..."

He started to shake his head, but Sylvie touched his arm. "No, Papa, she's right. We can all just...have dinner together."

Her father nodded, and the shoulders of everyone else in the apartment relaxed. Given what they'd all been afraid was coming, a mere awkward dinner seemed like a blessing.

* * *

Actually, dinner wasn't really awkward at all. Sylvie's father had always been amazing with kids, and Penny took a shine to him right away. Their animated conversation and Rebecca's comforting presence by her side made her realize how staid and perfunctory their Friday dinners had become.

"So you really own the bookstore?"

"Yes, that's right. You like books?"

"I love books! The kids at school...sometimes they say I'm boring because I like to read at recess."

"Hey, good for you! Kids need to read more! Not like this one, she never read."

Sylvie sighed. "Papa..."

He shrugged. It seemed like he was talking more to Rebecca now, or perhaps to the ghost of Sylvie's mother shaking her head affectionately from across the table. "Always preferred her theater, I mean sure, there's reading, but it's not the same. And so physical, all these sports she did, the volleyball and the soccer and the martial arts and everything. I mean is it any wonder she turned out the way she did?"

Sylvie winced. "Papa..."

He shrugged again, seemingly completely unaware of the company he was in. "What, is that offensive? I mean you told me, there are all these lesbians who play sports, that's not offensive..."

When Penny said "Mommy, what's a lesbian?" his eyes went wide. Sylvie just squeezed her eyes shut as her father once again became aware of his surroundings and Rebecca's mouth began to work. Sylvie desperately wanted to step in, feeling like this was her fault, but she couldn't even make her lips move.

Rebecca looked her way, like she was asking for permission, then cleared her throat. "Well, sweetie, it just means that...that she likes girls instead of boys." Her eyes shot to Sylvie again, like she was making sure she hadn't said anything that crossed a line, and when Sylvie could only continue with her look of mortification she turned back to her daughter. "Like...if she were going to get married...she'd want to marry another girl."

Penny blinked. "You mean like Tyler Cody's moms?"

Rebecca and Sylvie both slumped in relief. "Yes, sweetie, like that."

"Oh. Okay," the six year old said simply before immediately returning to her rice.

The conversation was a bit more subdued after that. Sylvie and Rebecca spoke in vague terms about the young mother's plans for the future, Sylvie's father adding the occasional insight. Eventually, they came around to the subject of money.

"I mean...I guess whatever happens, I'm going to need to get a job. Although...I mean, I have an English degree and six years of experience as a housewife, so I don't know what anyone would hire me to do..."

Sylvie nodded sympathetically, only to hear her father clear his throat.

"Sylvia." She looked over to find him frowning. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

Sylvie blinked. "What?"

"You know. Some reason you don't want this young woman working at my store?" His eyes were twinkling even as Rebecca's grew wider. "I mean, you know I can't run this place by myself, you know I'm looking for someone to help me who knows literature, you know this woman needs a job who's living above my bookstore now, but you don't say anything? So what is it, does she steal, what?"

Sylvie looked at Rebecca to find her grinning, eyes brimming with unshed tears. She couldn't help smiling too. "Thank you, Papa..."

Saul shrugged as he turned his attention back to Rebecca. "Now, I can't pay much. Owning a small independent bookstore seemed like a better investment thirty years ago, let me tell you. But I do need the help and, eh, well, everyone needs to get their foot in the door, so to speak. So, do you think you can forgive my daughter for trying to keep you from getting this job?"

Rebecca smiled, her hand unexpectedly sliding over to squeeze Sylvie's under the table. "Thank you, Mr. Goldman."

Sylvie's father waved his hand with a grin. "Please, please. Call me Saul."

* * *

The rest of dinner went by peaceably enough, and by the time Saul said goodnight Rebecca was almost relaxed. As she put Penny to bed, she was actually starting to think things might work out. When she came back out into the main room of the apartment, Sylvie was leaning against the kitchen island with a beer in her outstretched hand and a nervous look on her face. Rebecca took the bottle, and Sylvie's eyes momentarily shot up to hers. She took a drink from her own, and Rebecca followed suit, before the nurse cleared her throat.

"So, I guess we have to talk about what happened."

Rebecca blinked in surprise. What...had she done something wrong? Had Sylvie not wanted her to take the job? She swallowed past the lump in her throat. "O...okay..."

Sylvie winced painfully. "Look...I kissed you." Rebecca's eyes went wide. "We both know it, I was just trying to comfort you, I don't..." She clenched her free hand helplessly, eyes unable to meet Rebecca's. Before she could stop herself, Rebecca was laughing.

Sylvie's eyes shot up, and Rebecca tried to reign herself in. "I...I'm sorry, but...you kissed me on the forehead. Like you were my grandmother. How were you expecting me to take it?"

Sylvie was blushing now, bright red against her brown cheeks. "I...I just...the thing with Penny tonight, and...shit!"

Rebecca sobered as she took a step closer. "Look, Sylvie...I don't care that you're a lesbian. Penny doesn't even see anything unusual about it. All I know is that...you're kind to me. And I feel...comfortable with you, and..." She looked up at the nurse from under her eyelashes. "And I can't remember the last time I felt that way about someone other than my daughter."

"I just," Sylvie sniffed, "I just don't want you think that I'd...that I'd ever...I mean, you're really vulnerable right now, and..."

"Hey." Rebecca set her beer down on the island, letting her fingers touch Sylvie's and leaning down to seek out her eyes. "I know you'd never do anything to hurt me."

Sylvie sucked in a trembling breath, and it was only then that Rebecca realized the position they were in, her hand draped over Sylvie's, eyes locked, lips only inches apart...

Close enough that when Sylvie let the breath back out, Rebecca felt it against her lips. "We keep ending up like this," she whispered, and Rebecca swallowed.

"I know." But neither of them moved. Finally, Rebecca pursed her lips and stepped back. "I...I should get to bed."

Sylvie nodded frantically. "Right. I'll see you in the morning."

As Rebecca headed for the bedroom, she felt like her entire body was on fire.

What the hell was that?


	5. Saturday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains descriptions of physical spousal abuse. Reader discretion is advised.

When Rebecca woke up after a fitful night's sleep, she spent a few minutes just watching Penny sleep. Her little baby girl looked so peaceful, like nothing that had happened over the past few days had affected her at all.

She wished she could feel that way.

When she couldn't take it anymore, she emerged from the bedroom to find Sylvie, already dressed in a nice skirt and blouse. Rebecca blinked in surprise; she'd noticed Sylvie getting the clothes out the previous afternoon, but had forgotten to ask her about them. When she saw her, Sylvie paused in smoothing out her skirt and gave her a sheepish smile.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"So...I hope you ladies don't mind being alone this morning. I have to go to temple, my dad's just really been on my back about it lately..."

"Oh, of course. Yeah. We'll be fine."

Sylvie smiled, and Rebecca smiled back. When the gaze didn't end, Sylvie started to avert her eyes, and Rebecca sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, but this is ridiculous." Sylvie's eyes snapped back to hers, and Rebecca's lips pursed. She couldn't believe she was saying this, but Goddammit, it needed to be said. "There's this...thing between us. We both know it."

Sylvie's mouth worked impotently for a few seconds, then she just nodded in shame. "I know. And...I'd never want to do anything that would make you feel...uncomfortable about staying here."

"I know you wouldn't. And..." Rebecca met Sylvie's wary eyes. "And right now, I have to make sure my daughter's going to be taken care of. I just...I don't have room for anything else."

Sylvie nodded. "Of course. Absolutely. And...I am going to help with that, I promise. In fact, we'll get started this afternoon. I can get you talking to some people I know through the hospital, work on...I don't know how you want to handle things with your husband, or if you have some relatives you want involved, or—"

Sylvie's babbling was cut off by Rebecca's sharp gasp. When the nurse looked up, the redhead had her hand over her mouth. "Oh my god! Mom! I completely forgot, Greg must have called her by now, my mother must be out of her mind!"

"Hey, it's okay," Sylvie said. She reached out her hand to take Rebecca's, then cleared her throat and pulled it back at the last second. "I have to go. But, you can use the phone. Call her. Let her know you're okay."

Rebecca took a deep breath to try to calm herself down. "Right. I will. I...thank you, Sylvie."

Sylvie just smiled. Before this one could drag on too long, she was out the door.

As the silence settled, Rebecca found herself needing to move. A distraction. There were still some dishes in the sink, the glasses they'd used last night, but it didn't make sense to do them before breakfast. Sylvie hadn't made up the couch before she left, however, so Rebecca settled for doing that. It wasn't until she'd started straightening up the toys Penny had left lying around the TV that she admitted she was just postponing the inevitable.

With a deep breath that turned into a sigh, she walked over to the phone.

It rang twice; it had never occurred to Rebecca that her mother might not pick up—being as she was a harsh critic of sleeping in, even on weekends—but Rebecca was still caught a little off guard when she answered.

"Hello?"

Rebecca swallowed. "Mom?"

She could hear her mother gasp. "Oh my lord, Rebecca? Are you all right, where are you? What's going on, is Penny all right?"

Rebecca winced. "I'm fine. Penny's fine."

"Well where are you? Everyone's been worried sick, Gregory thought you'd run out on him!"

Rebecca sucked in a shaky breath. "Mom, I...I did. I did leave Greg."

There were a few seconds of silence on the other end of the line. "Honey, what are you talking about? You're not making any sense. I know you, you're a responsible woman, you wouldn't just break up your family without any explanation, without talking to your husband about it...what's gotten into you?"

Rebecca squeezed her eyes shut. "Mom, I...I didn't feel safe there. I didn't feel like Penny was safe there."

There was another long pause. "Honey, where are you? Just tell me where you went."

"I'm staying with a friend. Until I...until I can figure out what I'm going to do."

"Where? What friend? You're being so secretive, you won't even talk to me..."

Rebecca took another deep breath. God, why the fuck was she making this so hard? "Mom, I...I'm sorry, but...I don't want anyone to know where we are. I...I don't want Greg to find out where we are."

"Honey, you can't do this. I don't know what's wrong between you two, but you can't just take her and leave, he's her father, he has rights. Do you want her to get taken away? Because you're acting crazy, and I—"

"Mom just stop!" Rebecca snapped, and she heard her mother sigh.

"Look, honey, can we just get together and talk about this? You need to talk to me, just come by the house and we can all talk."

Rebecca blew out a breath. She didn't know what to think. She trusted her mother, but...

"I...I'll think about it. I have to go, Penny's going to be up soon. I'll call again later."

"Rebecca, wait—"

She hung up.

As her mother's words came back, again and again, she dropped to the couch and started to cry.

* * *

The afternoon was a blur, talk of custody and restraining orders and protection and through it all Rebecca was just thankful to Sylvie for taking Penny down to hang out in the bookstore while she talked to the lawyer; she could barely handle the harsh realities they were talking about herself, much less think about how her poor daughter would have handled them. Jill, as Sylvie introduced her, had worked with the hospital before, and the understanding looks she'd given Rebecca as she explained their options were almost enough to make her believe everything was going to be all right.

She didn't really feel that way, though, until she went downstairs. When she entered the mostly-empty bookstore, she immediately started looking for Sylvie and Penny, a task made somewhat easier by following the sound of the little girl's laughter. When she rounded the corner of the children's section, she stopped short.

Penny was sitting on Sylvie's lap, an open book in their arms. "Okay, come on, I want to hear more. You've got me hooked."

Penny beamed, and Rebecca couldn't help following her lead. The six year old licked her lips and began to read slowly. "...for Owl, wise though he was in many ways, able to read and write and spell his own name W-O-L...yet somehow went all to pie...pieces over del...lic...cate words like measles and butter toast." Penny turned to her smiling companion. "What's measles?"

"It's a disease that kids get sometimes."

"Does it hurt?" Penny was giving Sylvie her undivided attention; the serious look on her face almost made Rebecca laugh.

"Yeah, it hurts a lot. But you don't have to worry...when you were a baby, you got a shot to make sure you wouldn't get it. In fact, you got another one about a year ago, do you remember that?"

Penny shook her head. "How do you know?"

"Well, when you came to the hospital for your allergy, we had a chart with all that stuff on it, so we'd know how to make you better."

"Is it fun being a nurse?"

Sylvie smiled fondly as she stroked Penny's hair. "Sometimes. It's a lot of hard work, though. It keeps you really busy."

"Is that why you don't have a wife like Tyler Cody's moms?"

Rebecca watched as Sylvie tried to hold in her laughter. "Um...something like that."

Before her daughter could embarrass the young nurse any further, Rebecca cleared her throat. "Hey, you two. Having fun?"

Sylvie's eyes snapped up and she gave a sheepish smile, while Penny's lit up her entire face. Rebecca opened her arms as Penny hopped out of the nurse's lap and practically sprinted into a hug, Sylvie standing up behind her with a guarded look.

"Hey. Did everything...go okay?"

Rebecca nodded. "I think so. I...I feel like I know what I'm doing now, I guess."

Sylvie just nodded back. She obviously wanted to talk about it, but not in front of Penny. "Why don't we head back upstairs. Penny, do you want to bring Winnie the Pooh with you?"

"Yes, please."

"Okay, let's go."

There was a stairwell up to the apartment in the back room, to the cat door that allowed Milo to come and go as he pleased. He'd been lounging around the atlases for most of the day, but now that his three roommates were moving back upstairs he elected to follow them. That turned out to be good luck, as it gave Penny something to do while Rebecca and Sylvie lingered in the kitchen to talk. After filling Sylvie in on her discussion with Jill, the possibility of getting a restraining order, and how she was planning to keep Greg from getting to Penny at school, the conversation eventually turned to her mother.

"I just don't know what to do. I mean...I love my mom. I want to talk to her, I need to talk to her about this, but...the whole time she was with Dad, no matter what he did, she always took responsibility, because it's a wife's job to hold a family together, no matter what. I mean Jesus, he cheated on her twice, and he still had to be the one to say he wanted a divorce. I just...she's going to take Greg's side, I just know it, or worse she's going to try to get him involved. I mean, what if I show up and he's there? She wants me to bring Penny, I can't bring her into that..."

"Hey, hey, it's okay, come here." Rebecca collapsed gratefully against Sylvie's shoulder as the petite woman wrapped an arm around her. "Look...I don't have the right to tell you what do do..."

Rebecca laughed. "No, please, do, because I don't know what I'm doing." She looked up at Sylvie shyly, beseechingly. "What would you do?"

Sylvie took a deep breath. "Okay. Well...if it were me..."

* * *

Rebecca's mother answered on the second ring again. "Hello?"

"Hi, Mom."

"Rebecca! I—"

"Mom, just listen." Rebecca took a deep breath, looking to Sylvie for reassurance. The nurse smiled and squeezed her free hand. "I want to talk to you. About everything. Can we...have dinner tonight?"

That was step one: make plans at the last minute, so she didn't have a chance to prepare anything.

"Of course, honey. I'll make—"

"No. Somewhere else. Somewhere...neutral."

That was step two: meet somewhere Greg wouldn't be as likely to be skulking around trying to find her. There were a few seconds of silence.

"All right, honey, if that's what you want."

"Great. The, uh...the Italian place we went to for Kyle and Mindy's party, how about that?"

"Sure. Whatever you want."

Rebecca cast Sylvie another glance, got another squeeze of her hand, and took another breath. "Mom...there's one more thing."

"Yes, honey?"

"If Greg's there...Mom, if Greg's there, I'm cutting you out of my life."

Her mother sputtered. "What? But...honey, I—"

"No. I'm sorry, Mom, but...I'll explain everything in person, but I can't be around him anymore. And if...if you can't respect that, then I don't feel safe having you in Penny's life."

There was a long pause, even longer this time. Finally, her mother exhaled. "All right, honey. Whatever you say."

"Great. I'll see you at...seven thirty?"

"Okay, honey. I'll see you then."

As soon as Rebecca hung up, she collapsed against Sylvie.

"Hey, it's okay," Sylvie murmured in her ear, "I'll take care of Penny, just go, talk to your mom. Oh, wait...here."

She pulled away, and when Rebecca looked down Sylvie was holding her smartphone out.

"Take it. This number's in there, in Contacts under 'Home.' Just...just to be safe."

Rebecca nodded wordlessly as she took the phone. She spent a few moments looking blankly at the screen. Then she leaned in and wrapped her arms around Sylvie's shoulders.

* * *

Rebecca was walking on eggshells all the way into the restaurant. She only relaxed a little when she saw her mother, sitting alone and looking supremely worried. The older woman stood, hugged her tightly when she got to the table, but was still frowning.

A waiter asked for their drink orders as they sat, and Rebecca ordered a diet soda and her mother an iced tea; her mother made a point of never drinking in public because she thought it was vulgar, while Rebecca didn't want to risk dulling her senses. As she opened the menu, she took a quick glance around the restaurant; she could see most of the tables from where they sat, and it looked like her mother had kept her word.

"Rebecca." Her eyes snapped back to the older woman, shoulder-length red hair noticeably silver at the roots. "Would you please talk to me, honey? What's going on?"

Rebecca swallowed. She nodded to the waiter as he brought their drinks, ordered the orzo, and took a sip of her soda before she spoke.

"I left Greg, Mom."

Her mother frowned more deeply. "Yes, honey, I know! Why, why on earth would you do that?"

Rebecca's eyes slid down to the table. "Because...because he was hurting me."

The older woman sighed. "Honey, whatever he was doing, it's not a reason to walk away. You get counseling, you talk about it, you don't just—"

"Whatever he was doing?" Rebecca snapped. When she realized a few of the people around them were looking their way, she blushed and lowered her voice. "Mom, I don't mean he was...ignoring my feelings. I mean he was hitting me!"

Her mother blinked. "You mean...when he was angry, or..."

Rebecca's eyes narrowed. "What the hell kind of difference does that make?"

Her mother's lips pursed. "Honey...your Gregory's a good man, you know that. if he was...under a lot of pressure, or if he was...provoked—"

"Provoked? By what, the weather?"

"Honey, please! Now, I...I'm not saying you did anything on purpose, but...when men feel like their needs aren't being met, there are all sorts of ways they can...act out." Rebecca's mouth fell open. "In fact, I recently had someone write in, this woman who said her boyfriend was—"

"Stop! You're saying it's my fault?" Rebecca couldn't believe what she was hearing. She'd been saying the same things to herself for the last five years, but now, after what happened, hearing it from her own mother...she felt like she was going to throw up.

"I'm just saying...there might be things you both need to work on."

"Like what? Like the...the times he choked me because I didn't have dinner ready on time? The time he hit me with his belt until I started bleeding because he thought I was flirting with the mailman? The times he made me..." Her stomach lurched.

"Honey, calm down. I'm just saying—"

"Do you remember two years ago, when I broke my arm? 'Camping'? Do you want to know what really happened? I was doing the laundry, and he came up behind me and slapped my ass. And I flinched, and I spilled bleach on his jeans. So he shoved me down against the washing machine and slammed the door on my arm!"

Her mother's face was flushed now. "Rebecca! Calm down. We're in public, for God's sake—"

"Are you serious?" Rebecca's voice was climbing again, but she didn't care. "That's all you have to say?" She leaned over the table. "Do you know why I finally left, Mom? I left when he started hitting Penny! What did she do, huh Mom, does she have some things she needs to work on too?"

"Goddammit, that's enough!" Despite her self-consciousness, the older woman was now even louder. Half the restaurant was watching as Rebecca tried to control her breathing. Eventually, she climbed from her chair, shaking.

"You're right. It is." She pushed her chair in and took a step back. "Thank you for not bringing Greg. I just...I can't be around you right now. I'll call you."

As she left her mother sitting there, mute, everyone around them starting after her, Rebecca started to cry.

* * *

Sylvie really did try to eat well. She was a medical professional, after all, she knew how important it was, and she did try. Sure, she had the weekly Chinese takeout with her dad, but she was Jewish; it was practically a requirement. She'd even offered to make something for Penny, something healthy, something with vegetables.

But Penny had wanted pizza and, as Sylvie was quickly discovering, she just couldn't resist giving Penny what she wanted.

"Do you think Mom and Gramma are having fun?" Penny said around a mouthful of cheese, and Sylvie frowned.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, you look like a hippopotamus." Penny giggled, but swallowed. "Actually, I think your mom and her mom had some pretty serious stuff to talk about. She might need some hugs when she gets home."

Penny nodded. "Okay." She looked up at Sylvie with a knowing smile. "You can help. Mom really likes it when you hug her. She always smiles and grabs you really tight."

Sylvie blushed. She was a little relieved when Penny looked down.

"What are Mom and Gramma talking about?"

"Um, well...I think they're mostly talking about your dad."

Penny frowned. "Oh." They ate in silence after that. Sylvie was about to ask if Penny wanted more orange juice when the girl interrupted her. "Daddy gets mad a lot."

Sylvie winced. "Yeah. That's what your mom told me."

"When he gets mad...sometimes he hits her." Penny's voice was beginning to quaver, and Sylvie wasn't doing much better holding it together. "I don't think...I think he didn't want me to see it. So...if I heard it, I...I'd go downstairs and say I got scared, and that...that I needed Mommy to tuck me in. So he'd stop." Penny looked up, her eyes shining. "I know...I know lying's bad...is that why he hit me too?"

Sylvie gasped, pulling the sobbing girl into her lap. "No, sweetie, no! You...you did the right thing. You are...you are so brave. I am so proud of you..."

Penny buried her face into Sylvie's side, and Sylvie held her until her breathing eased. Finally, Penny pulled back far enough to be heard. "Sylvie?"

"Mm?"

"Do you think my mom would be happy again if she got married to a girl?"

Sylvie's mouth hung open. Fortunately, before she had to answer, their attention was drawn by the door opening. That sense of fortune, however, only lasted until she saw Rebecca's face.

"Oh my god, Becca..."

"Mommy!" Penny jumped out of Sylvie's lap and latched onto her mother's waist. Sylvie was only a few steps behind, taking the hand that wasn't clinging to Penny's back.

"Becca what's wrong, what happened? Was Greg..." Sylvie's eyes shot down to Penny, but the redhead shook her head. Sylvie frowned.

"Penny? Sweetie? Do you think you can go play on your own? Your mom and I need to talk for a second."

Penny nodded and loosened her embrace. "Okay. Mom?" Rebecca looked down to find her daughter looking up. "I love you."

Rebecca sniffed. "I love you too, baby. I'll be in to read in a minute."

They were silent until Penny was in the bedroom. When she was, Sylvie immediately wrapped an arm around Rebecca's waist, guiding her to the couch. Rebecca slid down against her body without resistance, just trying to keep from breaking down.

"I...I don't know what to say."

Sylvie shook her head, fingers running through her hair. "You don't have to say anything. Just...just sit with me, just until Penny's ready. When she's asleep, we can talk."

Rebecca nodded, letting out a sigh of relief. She burrowed deeper into Sylvie's embrace, closed her eyes, and let herself breathe.

* * *

A few hours later, they were back on the couch. Rebecca had told her everything, from the moment she walked in to the moment she stormed out.

"I just...I was so angry! I know I overreacted, but...I told her my husband was beating me! And what did she say? All the same things she'd been saying since I was a little girl...it's your job to fix him, men are under so much pressure...stuff that I was so desperately trying to believe a few days ago! And I was just sitting there thinking...would any of this have happened? Would I have gone through any of this, the past five years of...of torture, if just once she'd said 'stand up for yourself'? Or...'you're not your husband's property'? I mean, I'm not blaming her, I just—"

"Shh..." Sylvie's hand was rubbing small circles over her back, face against her neck. "Shh, it's okay. You didn't do anything wrong. Not tonight, not for all those years. None of this is your fault."

Rebecca shook her head softly. "I shouldn't have yelled at her."

Sylvie snorted, the hot breath tickling her collar. "She's lucky I wasn't there, I would've done a hell of a lot more than yell. I can't believe she'd do that to her own daughter. What makes her think she has the right to talk like that?"

Sylvie jumped as Rebecca exploded with bitter laughter. "Actually, it's pretty simple. You know what she does for a living? She's an advice columnist."

Sylvie winced. "God. You grew up with that?"

"Ever since I can remember, I thought she was so wise. But now...it scares me so much," Rebecca whispered. "It makes me think, what if...what if I'm doing something wrong with Penny? What if I'm...teaching her something that's going to hurt her when she's—"

"Stop. You're amazing with Penny." Sylvie smiled. "You know what she said to me tonight? She said you liked it when I hugged you." Rebecca's eyes snapped up, and Sylvie was grinning. "She said you always smile and grab me really tight."

Rebecca's cheeks flushed. "Oh my god...she doesn't...do you think she thinks that..."

"I don't know." Sylvie decided to leave out the part about Rebecca marrying a girl. "But...baby, she just wants you to be happy. So much."

Rebecca pursed her lips, sitting in silence, staring out the windows into the cloudy night, the partially-covered moon the only source of light in the dark apartment. "You called me baby," she whispered, and Sylvie tensed against her.

"I..."

"And before...you called me Becca."

"It...it just slipped out. Both did, I'm sorry, I—"

"Don't be." Her hand brushed through Sylvie's hair. "It's so easy. Being close to you," she murmured. "And it's so hard."

Sylvie swallowed. "Re...Becca, I—"

"I know we can't...we shouldn't...but could we just...stay like this? Can you just hold me?"

Sylvie smiled, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. "Oh God, of course. As long as you need."


	6. Sunday

Rebecca woke up warm. Warm and comfortable, more so than she had her previous two nights in bed with Penny. Of course, she realized as she slowly became aware of her surroundings, that was because she hadn't had Sylvie lying on top of her.

Her body tensed, and that was enough to make Sylvie sigh and blink, lazily swatting the hair from her face before Rebecca could manage to untangle them. When Sylvie's eyes opened, Rebecca felt her chest expand as she sucked in a breath.

"Uh, go...good morning."

Sylvie blushed. "Good morning. I, um...I have to...to get ready for work, I'll just..."

Rebecca sat up as Sylvie headed for the corner table, grabbing her phone and her keys where Rebecca had dropped them last night and shoving them back into her bag.

"It's Sunday," Rebecca said.

"Yeah, I usually work every day except Saturday, but I took Friday off. I, um...I really have to get going."

"Okay. Penny and I are probably just going to stay in. I might see if your dad wants me to start doing any work down in the store."

"Great. Well...I'll see you around eight. I hope." Sylvie paused with her hand on the doorknob and glanced back over her shoulder, eyes unreadable. "We can...talk some more."

Rebecca just nodded. When the door closed, she let out a breath. God, what was happening to her?

There was something between her and Sylvie. They'd said as much yesterday, and even if it had kept going unsaid Rebecca was a grown woman; there was no point in trying to deny it. But...why? She'd never had any interest in women before...well, except maybe at that party with Gina, but a couple minutes of drunken, experimental kissing in college hardly counted, especially since they'd only been doing it so Greg and Gina's boyfriend could watch.

She frowned...hadn't they?

Fortunately, her train of thought was interrupted by the sounds of Penny stirring in the bedroom. Screwing a smile on her face, Rebecca set off to take care of her daughter. That, at least, she understood.

* * *

Despite what she'd told Sylvie, Rebecca hadn't actually been planning to head down to the bookstore—she wanted to clean the apartment up a little to show Sylvie how grateful she was, and she wasn't even sure if her father had it open on Sundays—but Penny ended up making the decision for her. She still didn't know exactly what had happened on her little field trip there with Sylvie yesterday, but apparently the bookstore was now the girl's favorite place. So when Rebecca asked her at breakfast what she wanted to do today, there was never even any competition.

They headed down through the back room around ten, and found to Rebecca's surprise that the store was indeed open. There appeared to be half a dozen or so customers milling around, which for a Sunday morning seemed like pretty good business. Saul was standing at the counter, and when he caught her eye—and her uncertain expression—he smiled and waved her over.

"Rebecca," he said as she approached. "Good to see you getting out. And Penny! Always good to see my favorite customer!" Penny grinned, then tugged on her mother's leg.

"Mommy, can I go read in the chair?" 'The chair' was the big plush antique easy chair sitting in the back corner between the children's section and the poetry. Milo was currently draped across it, but he probably wouldn't mind sharing.

Still, Rebecca frowned. "I'd rather you stay with me, sweetie..."

Saul waved his hand. "Ah, let her go, you can see it from the counter." Rebecca's frown deepened; she knew it was foolish, but she had this irrational fear of letting Penny get more than a few feet away from her right now. Still, she needed to talk to Saul, so she took a deep breath and nodded.

"Okay, sweetie. Be good."

Penny grinned and practically sprinted across the store, startling Milo as she climbed up in the chair...though not enough to get him to move.

"She's a good girl." Rebecca turned back to Saul to see him smiling. "You should be very proud."

Rebecca blushed. "Thank you." As they lapsed into a comfortable silence, Rebecca cleared her throat. "Saul...can I ask you a question?"

"What? Yes, of course."

"It's about...Sylvie."

She saw him smirk out of the corner of her eye. "I had a feeling it might be."

Rebecca cleared her throat. "I was just wondering, when did she...how did you...know? About her?"

Saul smiled, a distant look in his eyes. He leaned back against the wall behind the counter with a wry chuckle. "Her first year away at school. She comes home to visit, and she brings this little blonde girl, Judy. She says 'Papa, this is my girlfriend.' Now I think, I've heard about these girls who they go to college and they want to experiment, this is a phase. So I can handle that. I think, it could be worse, this Judy seems nice, do I wish she would've at least picked a Jewish girl, but..."

Rebecca smiled as Saul shook his head.

"Next year, when she comes home for the winter and she brings another girl, I still think, this is a phase. And the year after that. By the time she finishes school, I'm starting to think that maybe this is not a phase." He shrugged, eyes glittering as he offered her a grin. "But by then, I'm so used to it, and I think it doesn't matter, whatever makes my girl happy."

Rebecca felt a twinge at that. She shook her head. "And...before that. You never had any...suspicions..."

Saul waved his hand dismissively. "I should have, maybe, looking back. She never had boyfriends, though I was too busy being grateful for that to think much about it. To tell the truth, her mother was always much better at paying attention to that kind of thing. But by then...she was gone."

Rebecca smiled wearily, the look of love and regret in his eyes hitting a bit too close to home. "She's a good girl," she murmured. "You should be proud."

Saul smiled, then his eyes cut towards her. "Now then, young lady. Why don't we talk about you for a second?"

Rebecca flushed. "I...I'm not a lesb...I mean, I'm still trying to figure things out."

Saul chuckled. "Rebecca, my daughter is a grown woman. I know I kvetch, but her love life is none of my business, and yours certainly isn't. In any case...I meant we talk about the job." Rebecca's cheeks were burning. She just nodded.

"Tomorrow, you send Penny back to school?" Rebecca nodded. "Then today you spend with your daughter. Tomorrow, you spend the day down here, you get to know the store, maybe I get you started on the things I need help with. Won't have you running the front of the store much, probably, you'll be doing things like organizing the shelves, going through the consignments, these things my daughter keeps nagging me to do."

Rebecca chuckled, and Saul waved dismissively.

"Eh, I shouldn't complain, she's a good girl. Just always spends too much time taking care of other people, never any time taking care of herself." The bookstore owner shot her a knowing glance. "Like you, I think, hm?"

Rebecca pursed her lips, and Saul smiled.

"As I said, it's none of my business. But you two...you do each other a lot of good, I think."

Rebecca smiled. "I think you're right." She shook her head. "Well...if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go read with Penny."

Saul nodded and waved her off. As she walked toward her daughter, curled in in the big chair with Milo sitting contentedly in her lap, she couldn't help smiling.

* * *

By the end of her shift, Sylvie was ready to kill someone. Between one patient who started screaming at her for trying to take her blood pressure because it was 'the doctor's job,' the one who tried to stick his hand down her pants only for Doctor Mercer to laugh it off, and the fact that she'd been vomited on not once, not twice, but three fucking times, she was on the verge of becoming more dangerous to the people at Overlook than post-op infections and the cafeteria food combined. She packed up silently, ignoring Tony and Larissa's attempts to engage her in conversation on the way out, and trudged miserably home. It wasn't often that she hated being a nurse, but today...

That was her last thought before she opened the door to the apartment.

The first thing that hit her was the smell. It smelled like...like spices, she couldn't quite place which ones. Soothing and savory, and it just smelled...good.

It was warm, too, warmer than usual. Had Rebecca turned up the thermostat?

Said redhead was sitting on the floor with her daughter, playing with her dolls and laughing. They both looked up, and they both smiled.

"Sylvie!" Before she even had time to answer, Penny was wrapped around her legs. She patted the girl on the hair awkwardly as her mother approached at a more measured pace.

"Welcome home."

Sylvie smiled dazedly. "Thanks, I...what?"

Rebecca frowned. "Are you all right?"

The nurse shook her head. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just...had a hard day, and...what's that smell?"

Rebecca jumped. "Oh! Sorry, that's dinner. Are you hungry?" Sylvie nodded absently, and Rebecca smiled. "Great, come sit down."

Sylvie obeyed as Penny grabbed her hand and practically dragged her into the kitchen. When the casserole dish came out, Sylvie realized why the apartment was so warm; Rebecca had been using the oven. "I just made some chicken. I'm sorry it's been sitting in there, but Penny's used to eating around six."

Sylvie's stomach growled as Rebecca passed her a plate, but her mind still wasn't firing on all cylinders. "I had chicken?"

"Oh, well, no. We uh, we went grocery shopping this afternoon. As a sort of a...a thank you."

Sylvie's face fell. "You spent your stash on..."

"No no, your..." Rebecca smiled sheepishly. "Your father gave me a bit of an advance on my first paycheck, and...I just thought that..."

Sylvie shook her head in bemusement as she sat leaned over the island and turned her attention to the chicken. "You're really making yourself at home, huh?"

She was too busy pulling apart the moist, fragrant meat with her fork to see Rebecca's face twitch. But she definitely noticed when Rebecca muttered 'Excuse me' and headed for the bedroom without another word. Sylvie looked up in shock, then down at Penny, who had the same look on her face.

"Is Mommy okay?"

Sylvie frowned. "I don't know, sweetie, I'm gonna go talk to her."

The door to the bedroom wasn't closed all the way, but it still creaked a little; Rebecca spun around when it did, wiping her hand across her eyes, but not before Sylvie could tell that she was crying. "Becca? What...did I say something wrong?"

That just made the redhead wince again. "I'm sorry, I...this was stupid, I don't know what I was thinking!"

Sylvie blinked. "You just made dinner. Believe me, after the day I've had, it's exactly what I needed."

"I know! That's..." Rebecca spun around, shoulders shaking. "I'm not...I'm not your wife. This...this isn't...my home, our home, I know that, and I feel like I'm leading you on or pushing you into something but I'm just so confused, I..."

Her words tumbled to a stop when Sylvie's fingers touched the back of her hand. When she looked up, the nurse was meeting her eyes from beneath lowered lashes. "Push me," she muttered. "Please. Push me, because I...Becca, I don't know what to do. I know...I know what I want to give you. But I don't know if...if you'll take it."

Rebecca flinched. "I don't either. But I can't...I can't keep doing this."

Their hands were still touching. Rebecca's pinky had curled around Sylvie's fingers, holding them in place. She could almost feel the insubstantial grip pulling them closer.

"Your dinner's getting cold," Rebecca said.

"I know," Sylvie murmured.

"Penny's in the next room."

"I know."

"I've never done this before..."

"I kn—" Rebecca leaned down.

The kiss was brief, almost chaste. Well, no, the hot shiver it sent racing down Sylvie's body was anything but chaste. When Rebecca broke it, Sylvie let out a breath.

"Oh."

The ensuing silence stretched on for what seemed like hours. The two terrified, confused women might have stood there all night if not for the timid 'Mommy?' coming from the other room.

When Rebecca blushed and tore her hand away, hurriedly removing herself from the bedroom and rushing to reassure her daughter, Sylvie slumped against the doorframe with a sigh.

Fuck.


	7. Monday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains descriptions of spousal abuse and physical violence. Reader discretion is advised.

When Rebecca woke up, Sylvie was nowhere to be found. Probably at work already. Rebecca felt like crying.

She'd tried so hard. Tried to keep her priorities straight, tried to ignore this...thing with Sylvie. She thought once they'd...faced it, talked about it, made sure they were on the same page, it would get easier. And she'd thought it had worked.

Right up until their lips touched.

The kiss. The kiss had been...well, the kiss had been amazing. She was way past trying to lie to herself about that. That brief touch of their lips had made her heart leap into her throat and her entire body want to surge against Sylvie's. She'd only kissed three men, so maybe the fact that none of them had ever made her feel like that didn't make her a lesbian, but it was beyond useless to try to pretend she didn't want Sylvie.

Or that Sylvie didn't want her.

Penny rolled over in bed with a gentle sigh, and Rebecca shook her head angrily. She didn't have time to think about this. She stroked her daughter's hair, and the girl's eyes fluttered open. "Come on, honey. We have to get you ready for school."

If Penny was nervous about going back to school, she didn't show it. Rebecca was thankful for that, actually; as terrified as she was, it wasn't fair to put that terror on Penny. When they pulled up in front of Penny's school, she couldn't help the way her eyes swept the parking lot even as she tried to force herself to calm down. Greg wasn't here. He was already at work. They were fine. She wished Sylvie was with them.

When Penny got out of the car, Rebecca followed her, kneeling down to hug her daughter tightly. "Now honey, remember what we talked about? I'm starting my job with Mr. Goldman today, so I might not be here to pick you up right on time. So what are you going to do?"

"Wait in Principal Sarah's office," Penny replied dutifully, and Rebecca nodded. She'd met Principal Hopkins a few times at parent-teacher events, and had called her on Jill's instruction; her faith in the forty-year education veteran's ironclad dedication to her students' safety was the only reason Rebecca was willing to let Penny out of her sight today.

"Good girl. Okay, go on, sweetie, you don't want to be late."

Penny gave her a strange, knowing look, followed by another quick hug. As she headed for the doors and two of her friends shouted for her, Rebecca finally managed to smile.

* * *

Her first day working at the bookstore was...well...undemanding. She didn't doubt that Saul really did need the help, but she also didn't doubt that he wasn't used to having anyone else working for him. His only instruction was to 'get a feel for the place' and come find him if she had any questions. What work she did end up doing, shelving discarded books and such, she mostly had to invent for herself.

Around three twenty, she approached Saul at the counter just as he waved a cordial goodbye to a bearded young man who looked like a college student. "Saul? I have to go pick up my daughter from school."

Saul waved his hand dismissively. "Yes, yes, of course, go. Sorry I wasn't more help today, but don't worry, we'll get you settled in."

Rebecca smiled as she headed out the back to her car. She believed him, even if she also believed she'd have to do most of that settling herself.

Despite what she'd told Penny, she wasn't really planning to be late picking her up. The arrangement with Principal Hopkins had mostly been to assuage her paranoia, but the construction that had suddenly sprung up was making it seem like a pretty good decision in hindsight. By the time she pulled up to the school it was three fifty five, ten minutes after the end of class.

When she stepped into the office the receptionist looked up, the tension on her face immediately sending a chill down the redhead's spine. "Mrs. Morse. Um...hold on, Principal Hopkins needs to talk to you."

Rebecca's eyes narrowed as the rotund middle-aged blonde stuck her head through the door to the principal's office, and the feeling in the pit of her stomach only got worse as the grandmotherly principal emerged with the same look on her face. Principal Hopkins nodded to her. "Mrs. Morse."

"What's going on? Where's Penny?"

The principal held up a hand. "She's in my office. I wanted to talk to you first." The woman and her receptionist shared a glance. "Around three o'clock, a man came into the school claiming to be Penny's father. As per your request, we told him we'd need to confirm that and that only you were authorized to pick Penny up. He got...aggressive, and we had to call the police."

Rebecca's eyes were wide. "Oh my god! I...is Penny—"

"Penny's fine. She was still in class when it happened, we...we thought it was best not to inform her. She's been in my office since class ended."

"Oh thank God." Rebecca dragged her hands across her face. "Oh God, I..."

"Mrs. Morse...Rebecca. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I just...I guess I didn't really think he'd try to..."

As she trailed off, Principal Hopkins frowned. "Mrs. Morse...as you know, our number one priority here at Williamson is the safety of our students. It's not my place to pry into your personal life, but...if there are any legal steps you need to take to keep Penny safe..."

Rebecca flinched. "It's...being handled."

Principal Hopkins nodded evenly. "All right. I'll go get Penny."

The older woman retreated, and before Rebecca's thoughts could drive her too crazy, Penny was sprinting out of the office and running into her arms. "Hi, Mommy!"

"Hi, sweetie." Rebecca couldn't help squeezing her a little tighter, and when they pulled back Penny was giving her that look again.

"Mommy, are you crying?"

Rebecca cleared her throat and schooled her face. "No, sweetie, just thinking. Come on, let's get you home."

As Penny took her hand, Rebecca froze. Home? She hadn't meant home. She'd meant to Sylvie's. Damn it, was Penny going to think they were going to...

But Penny was just smiling. "Did Milo miss me?"

Rebecca forced a smile. "I'm sure he did, sweetie."

As they headed back into the hall, Penny merrily swinging her hand in her mother's, Rebecca could barely walk. She'd called the apartment above the bookstore, with Sylvie and Saul and Milo, home, and Penny had known exactly what she meant.

What the hell did that mean?

* * *

At Penny's insistence, they didn't head upstairs to the apartment right away; she claimed she wanted to see 'Mr. Sal,' but something told Rebecca that the combination of cat and books was more tempting than the company of Sylvie's father. Still, if her daughter wanted to spend her free time in a bookstore instead of in front of a TV, she certainly wasn't going to complain.

Saul grinned as Penny approached the counter. "Hello, young lady. Can I help you find something? Something with lots of big words, maybe?" Penny giggled. Before Saul could continue, the bell above the door jangled and he had to look back up. "Hello, sir. How can I help you?"

"Rebecca."

Rebecca's entire body froze. The voice behind her was unmistakable. No. No no no no no fuck no, he must have been staking out the school, he must have followed them, she was so stupid how could she be so stupid—

"Rebecca!"

She swallowed a deep, shuddering breath, then turned, trying to keep Penny behind her. Even though she knew it was coming, the sight of her husband's scowling face made her flinch. She couldn't speak.

"Rebecca," Greg hissed through his teeth. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Rebecca winced. "Greg, I..."

She took a step back as he took a step forward, pressing Penny against the counter behind her. "Are you out of your mind? You thought you could just run away, you thought you could steal my kid? You want me to call the police, Rebecca, huh? Have them throw you in jail?"

His voice was rising with the red in his face, and Rebecca was starting to shake. There were a few other customers turning to look, then looking at each other like they weren't sure what to do. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Saul frown. "Son, you need to calm down and—"

Penny shrieked as Greg shoved the old man away from the counter, hard. "You shut the fuck up, shithead! No one's talking to you!" His roiling glare turned back to Rebecca. "Now are you gonna come home, or am I gonna have to drag you out of here?"

"Don't touch me," Rebecca said in the strongest voice she could muster, but that voice was still quivering. "Just...just stay away from me, Greg! I'm not letting you lay a finger on Penny ever again!"

Greg's nostrils flared. "Letting me? My kid, my fucking kid, you're not letting me..." He growled. "You stupid cunt!"

Rebecca shrieked as his hand lashed out, grabbing a handful of her hair and yanking her toward him, almost tearing it out by the roots even as she tried to thrash, tried to push her screaming, crying daughter away. Oh God, she'd made a mistake! He was going to kill her!

The bell clattered again as the door burst open. "Hey! Get your hands off her!"

* * *

"Hey, thanks for taking the shift," Sylvie mumbled as the top of her scrubs momentarily covered her mouth. Larissa just shrugged.

"Well, all the ones you covered for me I still owe you like a dozen or something. So what's the occasion? Since when do you clock out before midnight, much less five?" The willowy Latina gave her a speculative glance. "Hot date?"

Sylvie blushed and tried not to scowl. "I've just...got a family thing to deal with."

"Okay. Well...good luck with that, I guess."

Sylvie snapped her locker shut with a sigh. "Thanks."

She wasn't looking forward to going home. She'd been lucky that her shift started so early today, so she had an excuse not to talk to Rebecca about...last night. Unfortunately, she'd made the arrangement for Larissa to take her evening shift before...that, which meant she had no excuse not to go back and face her colossal, friendship-ending mistake.

Rebecca wasn't a lesbian. That much was obvious. And as equally obvious as it was that she found Sylvie attractive, the nurse knew firsthand how much those confusing feelings could fuck you up when you weren't in the right place to deal with them. And between her husband and her daughter and their future, Rebecca was on the opposite side of the world from the right place.

So Sylvie had tried to ignore it. Tried to be respectful of Rebecca's wishes, except when she started to feel like those wishes might involve her. They'd been friends for less than two months and living together for less than a week, for fuck's sake, it shouldn't have been this hard.

But it was.

Sylvie didn't head up to the apartment right away. It was past four, which meant that Penny must surely be home from school by now. And as much as she wanted to see the bright, smiling, laughing little girl, she couldn't bear the thought of facing her mother. So instead she decided to stop by the store first. She was loath to talk about this with anyone, but maybe her father could...

Sylvie froze.

The bookstore had huge front windows, windows her father had always loved because they gave him space to display new books and let in so much light. They also gave a perfect view of the counter. Which meant she had a perfect view of the man grabbing a handful of Rebecca's hair and trying to rip her away from Penny. Sylvie's stomach tightened; she'd never met Rebecca's husband, but there was no way this could be anyone else.

Before she had time to think about what she was doing, she'd practically kicked the door off its hinges. "Hey! Get your hands off her!"

Rebecca let out a gasping sob, and the man holding her spun around to face Sylvie. He looked her up and down with a sneer; he obviously wasn't impressed with the little black woman almost a foot shorter than him. She didn't see her father anywhere, but the old corded black phone was missing from the counter; was he behind it calling the cops? Please, please let him be behind the counter calling the cops!

"You stay out of this, bitch," the man spat at her. "This is none of your goddamn business!"

Sylvie tightened her jaw, and her fists. "I said hands off! Now!"

The man growled. Like, he actually fucking growled. He shoved Rebecca away, hard enough for her head to hit the counter, Penny shrieking "Mommy!" as she went down. But Sylvie couldn't think about that right now. She had to think about the attacker barreling toward her. He swung his hand out to grab her throat.

It was over in seconds. By the time Rebecca was looking again, her husband was rolling on the floor, one hand clutching his shattered, gushing nose while the other gingerly cupped his pulverized testicles. Sylvie stood over him, and now she was the one sneering.

"Oh what, you think a little black Jewish girl's never met a bully before, asshole? I've been doing Krav Maga since I was ten!"

"You gunt! You fugging gunt you broke by dose! You broke by fugging dose!"

Sylvie was shaking with rage. "You ever touch her again, you son of a bitch—"

The kick she was planning was cut short when two sets of arms wrapped around her from behind. Penny and Rebecca were both crying.

"Sylvie, stop! Please, don't, please just stop!"

As the sound of sirens began to rise outside, Sylvie dropped to her knees, letting mother and daughter hold her as she shook.

* * *

Rebecca and Jill were in Sylvie's living room, sitting on the couch. Rebecca was thankful that a somewhat shaken Sylvie had offered to take Penny into the bedroom to play; she knew she didn't want her daughter to hear this anymore than Sylvie wanted to.

Jill leaned forward. "All right. First things first. Are you all okay?" Rebecca nodded mutely. Sylvie had spent a few hours with the police, but given the testimony of the people in the bookstore, they'd assured her that no criminal charges would be forthcoming. And Penny was...well, Penny. Jill let out a breath. "Okay, so...this is going to sound terrible, but...he did you a huge favor today."

Rebecca's eyes snapped up to the calm, unruffled lawyer. "What?"

"Look, between the school and downstairs, he got into two violent confrontations today that ended with the police being called, including physically assaulting you in front of multiple witnesses. If he'd just stayed away our legal options would require a lot more time and argument, but today he handed you all the ammunition you need for the restraining order, the divorce, custody...and given what happened I recommend we get started on all of that as soon as possible."

Rebecca just sat, mute. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. All of this, it was just happening so fast, it had been less than a week...

Jill frowned. "Rebecca?" Rebecca could only shake her head weakly. Eventually, Jill's expression softened. "Tell you what...how about we just get started with the restraining order? That'll give you some time to...think things over. Maybe...talk things over." Rebecca just nodded again. Jill sighed. "Rebecca. I've known Sylvie for a while now. Whatever's...going on between the two of you, it doesn't make any of this your fault."

Rebecca's eyes shot up, her cheeks bright red. "There's nothing going on between us," she ground out, and Jill's frown deepened.

"Okay. Well, why don't we just get started on the paperwork?"

* * *

Sylvie and Penny lay together on the bed, Milo curled up against Penny's legs. By the time Sylvie had gotten done with the police, the girl was...well, not calm, exactly. Holding it together. Better than Sylvie was, anyway. The chance to just spend some time with her while Rebecca talked to Jill was almost a relief.

"Did my dad hurt you?" Penny mumbled against her side. They were the first words she'd said to her since running up to hug her in the police station, and they made Sylvie wince.

"No, no sweetie. I'm tougher than I look."

"Did you hurt him?"

Sylvie winced again. "I just...had to make him stop hurting your mom."

She felt Penny nod. "Can you teach me how to do that?"

Sylvie was spared having to form an opinion on whether a six year old should learn Krav Maga when the door opened; Sylvie couldn't help the relieved smile that crossed her face when Rebecca appeared through it. The redhead smiled gingerly, but just stood there, watching them. When Sylvie opened her mouth to speak, Rebecca cleared her throat. "I don't think anyone's up for cooking tonight, so I ordered pizza. I hope that's okay."

Penny cheered, and Sylvie nodded as the little girl disentangled herself. As Penny bowled past her mother toward the living room, Sylvie met Rebecca's gaze.

"So...how's...everything?"

Rebecca cleared her throat. "Good. I think. I'm...getting a restraining order. We should be able to take care of it by tomorrow."

Sylvie licked her lips. "And...the divorce?"

Rebecca's eyes slid away. "I...Jill agreed to...wait. Until I...have time to think about it."

Sylvie blinked in confusion. "Think? Think about what? Becca, you can't really be thinking about going back to him after what he did?"

"No! I don't know!" The redhead shook her head. "It's just...it's such a big step, and...I want to make sure I'm doing the right thing."

"The right thing? How could keeping Penny safe not be the right thing?"

Rebecca's eyes snapped back up. "You are not her mother! I am!"

Sylvie blinked. "Of course I'm not, but I still care about her! I care about both of you, I'm not just gonna let you—"

"Let me?" Rebecca scowled. "So what, you're going to force me?"

Sylvie flinched even as Rebecca did the same. "That...that's not what I meant. You...you know I'd never—"

"I'm sorry. I...I didn't mean..." Rebecca pinched her eyes shut with a sigh. "Why don't we just...go eat."

Rebecca left first. When she did, Sylvie slid down the doorframe, pressing her forehead against the cool wood with a sigh.

"Fuck."

* * *

Rebecca could hear the shower through the apartment's thin walls. It made sense; no doubt Sylvie wanted to wash off the residue of this day just as much as she had. When the image of the other woman doing just that crept into her mind, she flinched away from it.

"Mommy?"

Rebecca turned down to her daughter with a forced smile. "Yes, sweetie?"

"Did you and Sylvie have a fight?"

Rebecca could feel her cheeks heat up. Oh God, how much of that had Penny heard? "No. No, sweetie, we were just talking."

"About Daddy?" Rebecca nodded gingerly. Her daughter frowned. "Is Daddy gonna make us go back now because you're married?"

Rebecca winced. Before she could start crying, there was a knock at the door. She shot up and sucked in a gasp. Oh God. Oh God no, how had he found them, how could he have possibly known—

There was another knock, then a muffled voice through the door. "Hello? Brick Bread. Large half-cheese half-green-peppers-and-mushrooms? It's kinda raining out here."

Rebecca blushed hard as she ran for the door and pulled it open. "I'm so sorry. How much do I owe you?"

The teenage boy standing huddled under the small overhang to stay out of the drizzle handed her the box. "Twelve eighty." As he took the ten and the five she offered, he gave her a concerned glance. "You okay, lady?"

Rebecca pursed her lips, cheeks going even redder. "Yes. I'm fine. Keep the change."

Soon after, Sylvie came out of the bathroom, hair wet but fully clothed. When Rebecca realized she'd been looking that direction expecting to see Sylvie's compact body wrapped in a towel, she immediately turned back to her pizza.

No one said a word during dinner.


	8. Tuesday

Once again, Sylvie was already gone when Rebecca woke up. Of course, as she told herself while she got her daughter ready for school, that was probably for the best.

She sat in the car outside Penny's school until the doors closed behind her. Then she sat there for about ten minutes longer. Eventually, she shook her head and admitted she should really be getting to the bookstore. But when she started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, she found she wasn't heading for the bookstore.

She was heading toward the suburbs.

Her mother worked from home. Her column was syndicated in over forty papers and magazines around the country, as she never hesitated to bring up when someone questioned her advice, though since Rebecca's father was a successful broker who'd left her rather than the other way around, the alimony would have been enough to support her anyway; the column was mostly just a way for her to keep busy and lord her wisdom over people. And when she thought about it that way, it made Rebecca feel insane for knocking on her door.

She'd almost changed her mind and decided to go back to the car when the front door opened. Her mother's eyes went wide. "Oh my god, honey, come here!"

Rebecca jumped in surprise as her mother wrapped her in a tight embrace. She was too confused, and too conflicted, to respond.

"Honey, are you okay? Is Penny okay?"

"I'm fine, Mom. We're both fine."

"Oh God, honey, I was so scared! When the police said—"

"The police? What?"

"They were here yesterday! They said Gregory attacked you in some store downtown!"

Her mother released her grip, at least enough to look at Rebecca's face. The younger redhead couldn't meet her eyes. "Yeah, Mom, he did."

"They said he could have killed you! I'm so sorry, honey, I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you. We're just so lucky...is it true that some woman jumped in and fought him off?"

Rebecca frowned. "She wasn't some woman, Mom. Her name...her name's Sylvie. She's the one we've been staying with."

"Well she's an angel! I'm so glad that she was there for you!"

Rebecca winced. "Mom, can we...can we go inside and talk?"

* * *

Her mother herded her to the couch, then made coffee. They sat opposite each other, Rebecca staring into her cup, uncertain where to start. After a few minutes of awkward silence, her mother cleared her throat.

"Honey, are you and Penny...are you two still safe?"

Rebecca nodded. "Yes. We...I've been talking to a lawyer. Greg's being held for a few days, and by the time he's out we'll have a restraining order." Her mother nodded in relief. Rebecca swallowed, then took a long draft of her coffee in a counterproductive attempt to calm her nerves. "We've also been talking about..." Rebecca took a deep breath. "About divorce."

Her mother pursed her lips. "Oh. All right."

"Look, I...I know that's...a big step. And I know that...I mean, everyone's just assuming, and I want Penny to be safe, more than anything, but it just seems so...so final, and..." She finally looked up, eyes shining. "Mom, I don't know what to do."

Rebecca's mother frowned. "Honey, I...I don't know what to tell you." Rebecca almost wanted to laugh; she never thought she'd hear those words come out of her mother's mouth. "I know you know that I'm not exactly the best person to talk to about divorce. I...I put so much energy into pretending things with your father were fine, because I thought if I just tried hard enough I could fix everything myself. But...honey, maybe some things can't be fixed. Whether you and Gregory are one of those things, I..."

The older woman fell silent, and Rebecca slumped. After a moment, her mother rose from the couch with a resolute look. She headed around the corner to her office, and when she emerged she was holding a piece of paper. Rebecca's eyes narrowed as she took it; it was a phone number.

Her mother shook her head. "I don't know what to tell you, honey. And even if I did...I don't even know if I'd want you to listen to me. I think..." She licked her lips.

"I think you need to talk to your father."

* * *

The bell above the door jingled as Rebecca opened the door to the bookstore, and the reminder made her flinch. It also made Saul look up from the counter, and the look in his eyes made her flinch again.

"Rebecca? I...wasn't sure I'd see you down here today."

The redhead frowned. "I'm sorry, I just had to..."

The old shopkeeper waved his hand as she trailed off. "Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that. After...well, what happened yesterday, you take all the time you need."

Rebecca shook her head. "I'm so sorry, I can't believe that happened in your store, I never—"

She fell silent as Saul stepped from behind the counter and grabbed her hands. "Young lady, come over here." Rebecca let him lead her to the counter, then tip her chin up so their eyes could meet. "You did nothing wrong."

Rebecca winced again. "Everyone keeps saying that to me..."

"Because you keep needing to hear it. Sweetheart, trust me. I'm Jewish, I know guilt. If anything, I feel guilty for not doing what my daughter did..."

Rebecca shook her head. "No, Saul, if you hadn't called the cops...I don't know what would have happened."

"My point is, you don't need any more stress. This store's not going anywhere, Sylvie and I aren't going anywhere. You do what you have to do for your family, and we'll support you."

Rebecca's lips pursed. "You barely know me, Saul," she mumbled, and he waved his hand.

"I know my daughter cares about you. She thinks you're worth letting into her life. That's good enough for me."

That just made Rebecca frown harder. "Would you excuse me, Saul? I..." She let out a long breath. "I have to make a call."

* * *

Rebecca sat on the couch, foot tapping nervously as the phone rang. Three rings now. This was stupid, she should just hang up. She was about to when there was a click on the other end of the line.

"Robert Baxter's office, this is Janice. How can I direct your call?"

The voice belonged to a woman, crisp and perky, and somehow hearing it just made Rebecca more nervous. She cleared her throat. "Uh...I'd like to speak to Mr. Baxter, please."

"I'm afraid Mr. Baxter is about to go to lunch, may I ask who's calling?"

Rebecca took a deep breath. "This is his daughter."

"Oh." The voice sounded surprised. "Of course, Ms. Baxter. Sorry. I'll get him right away. Just a second."

The line went quiet, making the pounding of Rebecca's heart all the more audible in the empty apartment. Finally, there was another click, and a hauntingly familiar voice said "Casey, hey sweetheart. What's up, shouldn't you be in class?"

"What?" Rebecca blinked, then winced when the meaning hit her. "No, Dad, it...it's me."

There was only silence on the other end of the line. Rebecca opened her mouth, but before she could say anything else it was broken. "Becky?"

Rebecca grimaced even as her shoulders fell in relief. "I hate it when you call me that."

"I remember." Her father's voice was weak, far away, and it had nothing to do with the half a country between them. He cleared his throat. "I...wasn't expecting to hear from you. Is everything okay, is...is your mother..."

"She's fine. She gave me your number."

"Oh. Okay."

"Is...is this a bad time?"

"No! No, of course not, I..." He sighed. "I didn't think you'd want to talk to me."

Rebecca frowned. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Look, Bec...Rebecca. I know we never talked about what happened with your mother. I know you probably blame me, and...well, you're right to."

"No, Dad, I...that's what I actually want to talk to you about. About you and Mom, about...divorce."

There was a moment of awkward silence before she could hear him let out a breath. "Of course, Rebecca. That's only fair."

Rebecca licked her lips. Now that she was here, she wasn't really sure how to ask what she needed to ask. "When...how did you decide to divorce Mom?"

There was another sigh from the other end of the line. "I couldn't pick out any one moment. I just...no. That's not true. It was...I came home late one night, after you were asleep. I told her I'd been at work, but I...I was with another woman. And she knew. And when I came in the door, she gave me this look. Like she was...guilty. Like it was her fault. And I knew right then that even though she was even more miserable than I was, she'd rather live like that the rest of her life than admit her marriage was a failure. And I just couldn't live like that."

Rebecca's knuckles were white on the phone. Tears were pouring down her cheeks. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Do you ever...regret it?"

There was another pause. "I...I regret the way I did it. I tried so hard to push her away because I thought it was the only way to get a clean break, but...I made it too clean. I pushed you away too, and I never, ever meant to do that. I wish I'd handled it better, I wish...I wish I'd thought about you instead of just myself. So you wouldn't have had to grow up without a father."

Rebecca's heart clenched. "Daddy," she sobbed. "Oh, Daddy..."

"Shh...sweetheart, don't cry. I'm so sorry..."

Rebecca's eyes slipped shut, tears ebbing as she sucked in another breath, her father's soothing voice close in her ear.

By the time they hung up, they'd made plans to talk again. There was so much they needed to catch up on; Rebecca had a teenage half-sister, he was a grandfather...

Penny. Rebecca shook her head.

Her father was right. This wasn't just about her. She knew what she needed to do.

* * *

"Hey, you wanna come out tonight? Might be nice to blow off some steam."

Sylvie forced a smile. "Not really in the mood," she replied, and Larissa glanced theatrically up and down the rows of lockers before leaning in.

"Okay, look...I'm not supposed to tell you this, but...Tony's sister's got this friend. This girl, this really, really hot girl who's coming out with us tonight. This really, really hot girl who likes girls and might be looking for one right now, if you know what I mean."

Sylvie rolled her eyes. "Look, I'm really flattered, but—"

Larissa huffed. "Jesus, Sylvie, all the work you do, you'd think you'd want to cuddle up with a warm body at least every once in a while."

Sylvie frowned. "It's not that. I've just got a...friend staying with me right now, I can't go out."

That, unfortunately, caught Larissa's attention. "Wait. Hold up. You mean, like...a girlfriend friend?"

"No," Sylvie snapped, and the fact that she'd snapped made her sigh. "I don't know. The truth is...I'm not sure what she wants."

She turned to find the taller nurse leaning against her locker, watching her. "Okay..."

Sylvie slumped against her own locker with another sigh. "It's just...complicated. She's in the middle of this...really messy breakup...or at least I hope she is. But we both feel something, and I'm trying to just ignore it but I keep saying all the wrong things, and..."

As her voice tapered off, Larissa's hand landed on her shoulder. "Hey. I'm sure it'll work out. If she needs time, give her time. If she needs space, give her space. If she needs pussy, well..."

Sylvie burst out laughing. When the fit died down, she patted Larissa's hand. "Thanks."

The other nurse smirked. "No charge."

* * *

By the time Sylvie got home, she was actually feeling a little better; the talk with Larissa and the ensuing walk home had given her space to think, and the more she thought the more she started to realize the truth.

And the truth was, she'd been happier over the last five days than she'd been in years. Having Becca and Penny sharing her home had given her something she hadn't even known she was missing, something she'd tried to cover over with work for way too long. When she opened the door to the smell of spices and the sound of Penny and her mother laughing, she couldn't help but smile.

"Sylvie!" Penny leapt up from the couch, her latest book casually discarded as she scampered over and wrapped her arms around Sylvie's legs. Sylvie chuckled warmly as she squeezed back.

"Hey, sweetie. Did you have a good day at school?"

"Yeah. I learned how to do pottery."

"Really?"

"They had a guest presentation on how to make pottery," Rebecca murmured archly from the kitchen. "I'm not going to rush out and get her a potting wheel quite yet."

Sylvie laughed. "And how was your day?"

Rebecca's smile dipped. "Um...eventful. Can we talk about it after dinner?"

The tone had her a little worried, but Sylvie nodded. _If she needs time, give her time._ "Yeah, of course. What are we having?"

"Meatloaf. I hope that's okay, I just...felt like it. I mean, you'll probably have lots of leftovers, so..."

"Mom's meatloaf is really good," Penny intoned sagely, and Sylvie smiled.

"Meatloaf sounds great. I think I'm going to take a shower first, is that okay?"

Rebecca smiled awkwardly. "That's fine. I...I got behind, it's not quite done anyway."

"Great. Well, I'll...shower."

"Right. Okay."

Sylvie shook her head with something between a laugh and a sigh as she headed into the bathroom. Smooth.

* * *

"Is she down?"

Rebecca smiled as she shut the bedroom door behind her. "Yeah, she's out for the count. Thanks for doing the dishes."

Sylvie shrugged comfortably. "Hey, they're my dishes."

Rebecca's smile faded as she approached the kitchen. "Sylvie...can we talk?"

She turned to lean against the counter. "Yeah, of course. Are you okay?"

Rebecca frowned nervously. "I...I have to say something. And I need to get it out, so...just let me talk, okay?"

Sylvie nodded hesitantly, and Rebecca took a deep breath.

"I talked to my father today for the first time in eighteen years."

Sylvie's eyes went wide, but she managed to keep her mouth shut. Rebecca's voice was shaking, but unbroken.

"He left my mother when I was eight. Cut himself out of our lives. I...I grew up without a father, and if I'm really going to do the same thing to Penny, I can't just get a divorce because everyone expects me to. I have to know I'm doing it for the right reasons."

She turned her eyes up to meet Sylvie's.

"I've never felt the way I feel about you before." Sylvie's eyebrows rose, and she had to bite down on her tongue to keep from blurting out something stupid. "Being with you...being here this past week, it's been...easier and harder than I ever imagined. I care so much about you," she murmured.

Sylvie could feel the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes as Rebecca's delicate features twisted into a brittle smile.

"Which is why I have to leave."

Sylvie blinked. "What?"

Rebecca winced. There were tears in her eyes too. "I have to know that whatever I decide to do about Greg I'm doing it for the right reasons. That I'm leaving him for Penny, and not for...for me." Her eyes flicked up again. "For you."

Sylvie felt like her hands were glued to the counter. Her heart was sinking in her throat. "You don't have to do this." Her voice was so weak she could barely hear herself, but it made Rebecca sob all the same.

"Penny and I are moving in with my mother. She's already expecting us. We'll leave tomorrow." She sighed. "If I don't do it now, I never will."

Sylvie sucked in a shuddering breath. _If she needs space, give her space._ "Will I ever see you again?"

Rebecca started to cry. There was nothing Sylvie could possibly do but join her.


	9. December

Sylvie held Penny tight as the little girl cried into her shoulder, tiny arms cinched tight around her neck. "It's okay, sweetie. I know."

"When are we coming back?" That was angled up at her mother, standing behind them with her lips pursed.

"I...we'll see, sweetie."

Sylvie pulled back and straightened up, every inch of her resolve focused on not crying. She'd done enough of that last night, first with Rebecca, then alone on the couch, thinking about the fact that come tomorrow she'd be sleeping in her own bed again and hating that thought more than any she'd ever had in her life. She sniffed.

"Penny...you take care of your mom for me, okay?" Penny nodded. Her tears were momentarily ebbing; Sylvie supposed that was the most any of them could hope for.

"I'll miss you," Penny mumbled, and Sylvie had to bite down on the inside of her cheek to stop a sob.

"I'll miss you too, sweetie." Before things could get any worse, Sylvie stood, which unfortunately brought her eye to eye with Rebecca. "I'll miss you too," she murmured, and the redhead swallowed, unable to break her gaze.

"Penny," Rebecca said without looking away. "We should go. Grandma's waiting." Penny frowned and wrapped her arms around Sylvie's legs, but after that final hug she made her way sullenly to the door. Rebecca frowned. "We should go."

"Becca, I..."

Sylvie didn't know what could possibly come next. Before she went absolutely crazy trying to figure it out, the tips of Rebecca's fingers brushed the back of her hand. "Sylvie." Rebecca's eyes were wet and muted, but still the familiar, lived-in gray-blue of faded denim. Sylvie couldn't look away. "Thank you. For everything, for...for giving me more than I ever knew someone could give me."

Sylvie licked her lips, trying to find the words. "Becca..." She sighed. "Thank you for taking it."

Rebecca smiled. It was a pained, thin, agonizing smile, and Sylvie's was the same.

Rebecca's fingers fell away from Sylvie's hand. And Sylvie let them go.

* * *

Rebecca's mother greeted them at the door with a hug, inviting them in and already telling Penny how she was going to have her own room again, and wouldn't that be nice, and Grandma had already gotten everything ready for her. Rebecca didn't say anything. Eventually, Penny was settled in the living room, reading, while Rebecca and her mother sat in the dining room, having a cup of tea.

"I have to admit, I'm a bit disappointed," Rebecca's mother said casually. The younger redhead's eyes snapped up, and her mother shrugged. "I was very interested in meeting this Sylvia of yours."

Rebecca didn't say anything.

* * *

"Hey, you sure you're okay?" Connie asked as she zipped up her jacket. It was getting colder every night. "You've been even more fun than usual lately."

Sylvie frowned. "I'm fine."

"Give her a break, Connie," Larissa said from over her half-tied shoes. "She's been dealing with some family stuff lately, right Sylvie?"

Sylvie zipped her hoodie with a resolute breath. "Hey Larissa, is the offer still on the table?"

Larissa blinked. "Huh?"

"Tony's friend, or whatever. Is she still available?"

"Yeah, I think so. She's been out with us a few times now."

"Is she looking for a relationship?"

Larissa gave her a cheeky smile. "I don't think 'relationship' is the word I'd use..."

Sylvie flipped up her hood as she headed for the locker room door. "Good."

* * *

"What are you drawing, sweetie?"

Rebecca leaned over her daughter's shoulder, idly stroking Penny's hair and looking at the marker-decorated piece of paper on the coffee table in front of them. There were four stick figures on it, three large and one small, plus a cat. Three of the figures had red hair, while the fourth's was brown and curly. Rebecca's throat tightened; she didn't have to ask who the fourth was. She cleared her throat.

"Wow, that's really good."

Penny's marker stilled. Slowly, her eyes slowly turned up toward her mother's.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"When are we gonna go see Sylvie?"

Rebecca's hand in Penny's hair froze. She had to clear her throat again. "Um...I'm sure Sylvie's really busy, sweetie. We shouldn't bother her." Penny frowned, and her mother immediately tipped her chin up. "Hey. Have you thought any more about what you want for Christmas?"

"Did you and Sylvie have a fight? Is that why you don't like her anymore?"

Rebecca winced. "It's not that I don't like her, sweetie. It's just better that we stay with Grandma right now. You've liked staying here, right?" Rebecca had to admit that over the past two weeks her mother had really been pulling out all the stops—trying to make up for lost time, if she were inclined to be cynical—to make them feel welcome. She'd been wonderful with Penny, and given Rebecca time to think.

And she'd tried so, so hard to only think about Penny and Greg.

"You were really happy when you were with Sylvie," Penny mumbled, and Rebecca frowned.

She shook her head and forced a smile, forced her hand to resume combing soothingly through her daughter's hair. "I'm happy here too, with you and Grandma. Now come on. What do you want for Christmas?"

Penny frowned, hands and eyes returning to her drawing. "Strawberries."

* * *

"...haggadol 'al nissekha ve'al nifleotekha ve'al yeshu'otekha...Sylvia." Sylvie blinked. She turned from the window, shaking her head, to find her father smiling at her over the menorah. "I know that Hanukkah isn't flashy and exciting, like Christmas, but you could at least humor me."

Sylvie grimaced. "Sorry, Papa. I was just...thinking."

"Mm. I wonder what you could be thinking about." Sylvie's lips pursed, and her father chuckled before his smile turned understanding. "There's no shame in missing someone, honey."

"There is if you fucked up their life," Sylvie mumbled, and her father sighed.

"Now I don't want to hear that. You never did anything to hurt that girl. Look at me." Sylvie forced her eyes up to meet her father's sure, steady gaze. "I have never been prouder of you than seeing what you did for those two. I just wish you didn't have to have your heart broken to do it."

Sylvie frowned. "It wasn't. I'm fine."

Her father matched her frown with one of his own, worry and sadness mingling in his dark eyes. Eventually, he sighed. "So. Are we going to sing, or what?"


	10. Christmas Eve

"Merry Christmas, honey!"

Rebecca smiled down at the laptop. "Merry Christmas, Dad. I...I'm glad we decided to do this."

"Yeah, me too. Casey should be here any minute."

"Penny too. Mom's just helping her clean up, there was um...a jelly situation."

Her father chuckled, but then his face turned sober. "What about you, sweetheart? How are you doing?"

"Good. I'm..." She exhaled. "I signed the divorce papers. It was...my Christmas present to myself."

Her father nodded. They'd talked a few times over the past few weeks, and she'd told him enough that he'd threatened to fly out and personally tear Greg's head off and shove it up his ass if he ever showed his face again. "I...for what it's worth, sweetheart, I think you made the right decision."

Rebecca smiled. "Yeah. But more importantly I made it for the right reason. Just like you said."

He tilted his head and glanced up into the camera. "Huh?"

Rebecca pursed her lips and leaned closer to the screen. "Dad...can I tell you something? I'm just...I'm not sure it's something I can tell Mom, and..."

"Of course, sweetheart. Anything."

Rebecca swallowed. "After...when I left Greg, I...I found myself sort of...there was someone else."

Her father's expression didn't change. "Okay...was this someone you met before or after you left Greg?"

"Well...before. But until Greg and I separated, it was never...I mean, even after that, it still wasn't like we were...you know..."

"But you wanted to?"

Rebecca winced guiltily. "Yeah. I think I did."

"Sweetheart, there's nothing wrong with that. You didn't owe Greg anything, not after what he did. If this other guy helped you realize that, that it was still possible to want someone like that, then as far as I—"

"Other guy? What on Earth are you talking about?"

Rebecca leapt almost a foot off the couch and spun to find her mother leading Penny through the door from the kitchen. "Mom! I...we were just talking about..."

Rebecca's mother released Penny, who immediately galloped over to Rebecca's lap. Rebecca cleared her throat and turned back to the webcam with a forced smile. "Penny, this is your Grandpa. Dad, this is Penny."

Penny waved shyly as the man on the other side of the screen gave her a brilliant grin. "Hi, Penny. It's so nice to finally get to see you."

"Who's this person you're talking about, this person you wanted?" Rebecca's mother butted in from over her shoulder. Rebecca cringed; apparently her mother hadn't reformed that much. "Rebecca, what's going on?"

"Are you telling Grandpa about Sylvie?" Penny mumbled, and Rebecca froze. There was no way to stop the blush from filling her cheeks, or either of her parents from seeing it. Her mother blinked.

"Sylvie. Your...your friend, the one you were staying with?"

"Who?" her father asked.

"This girl, this woman she and Penny stayed with during the separation. She was..." Rebecca's mother turned to her with a dissecting glance. "Rebecca. Were you two..." Rebecca's blush only got brighter, and her mother's eyes only got wider. "Good God."

"Becky? This...guy...was this girl?"

Rebecca winced, but Penny's weight on her lap, the reminder that her daughter was willing to admit it even if she wasn't, made her nod.

Behind her, her mother shook her head. "You were going to leave Greg for a woman?"

"No!" Rebecca frantically shook her head. "No, that's why I left Sylvie's, because...I didn't want this to be about her, I...I had to be sure I was leaving Greg for the right reason, to give Penny the best life, not because I...I wanted someone else. Like you said, Dad, it...it had to be about what was best for her."

On the computer screen, however, her father was slowly shaking his head. "Becky, sweetheart, that...that's not what I meant. Just because I made a mistake by cutting myself out of your life, that doesn't mean you don't deserve to be happy for yourself! Were you, I mean...did this woman make you happy?"

Rebecca glanced from the screen, to her mother, to her daughter. Penny was looking up at her, smiling sadly. "Sylvie made you be so happy, Mommy. I miss you being happy."

Rebecca could only sit, frozen. Eventually, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. When she turned, it was to find her mother smiling. It was a thin, uncertain smile, but it was a smile. "I guess we both should have listened to our daughters more."

"Becky," her father said gently. "Casey'll understand."

Rebecca blinked at the sudden non sequitur. "What?"

Her father smiled knowingly. "If you have somewhere else you need to be."

* * *

"Where exactly are we going?"

"The bookstore. She lives...her dad owns it."

Rebecca's mother shook her head. She'd insisted on tagging along—'you'll need the support, someone has to look after Penny'—though Rebecca was fairly certain she was just itching to put a face to the name that had apparently converted her daughter. "Do you really think anyone will be there? I mean, it's Christmas Eve..."

Penny giggled tolerantly from the back seat. "Grandma, Mister Sal's Jewish! They don't have Christmas!"

Rebecca's mothers eyes slid back toward the front seat, a little wider than they had been. "Really, honey, this is a lot to take in..."

Rebecca felt like laughing, so she did. "Well, Mom, I don't know what to tell you. I fell for a black Jewish lesbian, and I'm gonna go confess my love to her on Christmas Eve even though I'm pretty sure she never wants to speak to me again so...you know, take a minute!"

They parked in front of the bookstore, Penny eagerly trying to defeat the childproof lock as Rebecca rounded the car to get her. The lights were on, and Rebecca led the charge for the door, her daughter right at her side and her mother trailing listlessly behind. The bell above the door rang as she stepped inside, and it was the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard.

Saul was hunched over the counter, a ledger open in front of him, but he looked up when he heard the bell. His eyes immediately went wide.

"Rebecca."

Rebecca laughed nervously. "Hi Saul, I'm in love with your daughter, is she here?"

"She's working, at the hospital," Saul replied evenly, blinking. "This...is not something I was expecting tonight."

Rebecca shrugged. She wished she could be ashamed, or contrite, or something, but it was like her cork had been popped and all she could do was smile in relief that whatever was about to happen, at least the knot that had been tying itself tighter and tighter around her stomach since Sylvie opened the door to her apartment that rainy night would finally be gone.

"That makes two of us."

Saul looked at her, then back at the shop, then out the big windows into the late evening, the first snowflakes already starting to fall. His eyebrows rose. "You have room for one more in that car?"

* * *

The hospital's reception area was packed. Rebecca had never really considered it, but Christmas was probably not exactly the easiest time to work in a hospital. She shook her head as she approached the desk, the heavyset blonde in floral scrubs sitting behind it looking up to meet her.

"Can I help you, Ma'am?"

Rebecca leaned in. Where the knot in her stomach had been, now there were butterflies. "Yes. I'm looking for a nurse? Sylvie Goldman?"

The nurse frowned tolerantly. "We're really busy right now, Ma'am. Would you care to wait until she's available?"

Rebecca glanced nervously back toward the trio gathered by the door, Saul and Penny grinning excitedly and her mother watching in slightly uncomfortable awe. She took a deep breath. "Look, could you just...page her or something? Please? It's really important."

The nurse receptionist glanced up at her, only slightly annoyed. Then, all of a sudden, her eyes widened as if in recognition, and a grin split her face. "I'll see what I can do."

* * *

"Nurse Goldman to Reception. Nurse Sylvia Goldman to Reception."

Sylvie groaned, handing off her cart to Tony. "Sorry, can you handle the rest of these?"

The tall, reedy brunette smiled. "No problem. And hey, when you're done with whatever new disaster they've got for you, you could, you know...sit down for five minutes."

Sylvie gave him a tired smile. "Yeah, good one. I'll be right back."

At least she was still on the first floor, she groused to herself as she tried her best to weave her way through the hallway without bumping into anything or anyone. She fucking hated working the Christmas rush, but she was Jewish and single; what else was she going to do with her night?

She reached the reception desk with minimal fuss, letting herself slouch a little as she tried to catch Gloria's attention. "What's up?"

Gloria was smiling for some reason. "You've got a visitor. Had me page you."

Sylvie furrowed her brow. "What visitor?"

Sylvie heard the tap of heels on the linoleum behind her, growing louder even as Gloria's smile grew wider. "Oh, you know. No one important."

Sylvie spun around, and forgot to breathe.

Rebecca smiled: softly, tentatively, like she wasn't sure what Sylvie was going to do, which was appropriate because Sylvie didn't know either. She swallowed.

"Rebecca."

"Sylvie."

"I...I didn't know if...I mean...what are you...I mean..."

As a little pocket of silence settled over them amid the bustling of the waiting room, Rebecca took a deep breath and held something out. Sylvie blinked as a manila envelope was thrust into her hands. "I...got you a Christmas present."

Sylvie blinked in confusion as she turned the envelope over; there were no markings to indicate what was inside, and she had no idea what Rebecca would have gotten her that...well, she didn't even know how to finish that sentence. She shook her head and opened the envelope. Her confusion only grew as she pulled out the sheaf of paper inside.

It was a divorce decree.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked back up to find Rebecca watching her with trepidation. "What is this?"

The redhead shrugged simply, gazing up at her through delicate eyelashes. "Me. Everything I never knew I could give someone. If...if you'll take it." Sylvie couldn't move, couldn't work her tongue, and Rebecca swallowed hard. "I...I love you. Penny loves you. And I'm so tired of pretending that's not enough."

Sylvie's heart lurched into her throat. Her hand rose, her fingertips brushing the back of the redhead's hand.

"Becca..."

And just like that, Rebecca Baxter was kissing her.

At first, she was too shocked to do anything. Then, as the reality settled over her, her mouth and hands reacted on instinct, both pulling the redhead closer, the warmth of the lips and body and heartbeat pressing against hers making her want to cry. When they finally pulled apart, Rebecca was frowning.

"I'm so sorry, I can't believe I just did that where you work, in front of everyone you work with, I had no right to—"

Sylvie leaned in to shut her up. This time when they pulled apart, Rebecca was smiling.

"I love you," she murmured, and a grin split Sylvie's face.

"I love you too." Sylvie took a deep breath. "Please tell me that woman staring at us like I just pulled a gun on you isn't your mother."

Rebecca started to laugh. There was nothing Sylvie could possibly do but join her.


	11. May

"Are you sure about this, Saul?"

The old bookstore owner waved his hand. "Yes, yes, makes more sense for me to be close to the shop. Besides, what do I need all these rooms for? I'm not the one raising children now."

Rebecca smiled. In the months since she and Sylvie had started their relationship over again they'd toyed with the idea of moving in together—or, she supposed, _back_ in together—but when the time came she'd just assumed that they'd be moving into the apartment like the strange, awkward, heartbreaking, wonderful week that had brought them all here in the first place. But then Sylvie's father had gone and offered up his house to the unconventional young family, and now here they were.

"This place is still pretty close to the shop," Sylvie pointed out. Rebecca grinned as she slid past with a box of clothes.

"Well that's good. Wouldn't want to be late for work. My boss is a real taskmaster..."

Sylvie stole a kiss as her lover slid by, both she and her father chuckling. "I'll get out of your hair," Saul said, "have to do some unpacking of my own. But Friday night..."

"Chinese," Rebecca replied amiably, "always."

Saul nodded, giving his daughter a sly glance. "Not bad for a shikse, eh? You've trained this one good."

Sylvie rolled her eyes as her father headed outside.

"Penny, how's Mimi?"

"She's good," the seven year old replied from the couch, idly stroking the contentedly-purring calico curled up in her lap. "She likes it here."

Sylvie and Rebecca shared a smile. Sylvie leaned in. "And how's Becca?" she asked under her breath. Rebecca chuckled.

"She loves it here. Especially now that her mother's behaving."

Sylvie smirked. "Mm, I hope that lasts. I know her feelings on divorce are kind of complicated, I can't even imagine what she's going to be like when she finds out you're getting remarried."

Rebecca paused halfway between the door and the couch, the last box of books going slack in her grip. She turned around to find Sylvie still holding a box of her own, except this one was tiny and black and definitely did not have books in it. Just a ring.

Sylvie shrugged. "I mean...if you want."

Rebecca's hands rose to cover her mouth even as it split into an ecstatic grin. Tears were welling in her eyes as Sylvie took a step closer, giving her a nervous smile. "Is that a yes?"

In answer, Rebecca just leaned in for a kiss.

In the end, she told herself as Sylvie slipped the ring on her finger, her mother would be fine with it. Those traditional sensibilities of hers insisted that a child needed two parents, after all. And given the luck the Baxter women tended to have with their husbands, two moms seemed like an infinitely more sensible arrangement.


End file.
